Thirty-one days ago, an optimist sat in front of this computer screen and dreamed of writing the first draft of a 50,000-word novel. A challenge of epic proportions that only a small percentage of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) participants reach between November 1 and November 30.

Today, December 1, she sits before the same computer screen. Her results fall on the side of the majority, the losers, who did not reach the 50,000-word goal. She didn’t even come close.

Yet happiness is the honey on the honeycomb of her soul. It drips into areas never before coated with such a sweet, sticky nourishment. It warms her every nanometer, for she now has an unfeigned commitment to someone, a place she considers home and a weekly client to boot.

Those fortunes came to fruition during the month of November. And while she didn’t “win” NaNoWriMo, she’s never felt more blessed.