There’s an old saying that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.

Sometimes, there isn’t enough sugar in the world to make those lemons palatable. Lately, life has handed me a bushel of lemons and I’ve been struggling to find enough sugar to sweeten them. But you know the funny thing about sweetness? It often comes in forms we don’t recognize.

Just like in the kitchen, there are many forms of sweeteners for our lives. Though I know the usual ones, I often forget about the different ones. The ones that sit there on the shelves waiting for us to notice them and pull them out and use them.

In the case of my sweeteners, these happen to be my friends. Okay, yes, I know friends are always there. They are the plain white sugar in life. But… sometimes those friends go above and beyond and turn something sour into something a lot more drinkable. Maybe even with a new twist that you like even better.

What’s interesting to me is that these friends who are there supporting me right now are ones I would have never met had I not been a new writer looking for a local group to help me learn the ins and outs of the publishing game. Because of Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers, I have a group of friends who are amazing. They are the sugar in my lemonade. They are the ones who give me a shoulder when I need it, or a kick when that is called for. It’s not the old friends I’ve known all my life, but the newer ones who have my back.

So when you have lemons, remember that sometimes sweetener comes in different forms.

Vicky