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I have had the notion of writing a children’s book using my amateur photography for at least a dozen years.  I had started a draft.  When my computer did not respond correctly on December 21, 2012, I thought that someone had chosen an interesting day to introduce a computer virus into the world.  It was, after all, a date some people expected the world to end, based on a misinterpretation of the  Mayan calendar.  Without recalling the details of my troubleshooting, I came to the conclusion that my computer crash was actually a personal dilemma, not worldwide.  I was able to call in reinforcements later in the day after my husband got home.  I do not take asking for his assistance lightly. Since he works with computers all day, it’s a bit like a “busman’s holiday”.  Since I did not feel like my presence was adding much to the solution, I defaulted to something that would provide me a sense of accomplishment. I did laundry. When I was folding the clothes, I came up one sock short. So, this is the kind of day I’m having; it’s still not the end of the world, but if isn’t getting better. Even though my computer was not backed up, it’s possible that all of the pictures I had chosen were on Snapfish. I started using their services when I was still putting film in the mail and getting prints back. They were also storing the photos digitally and I could access them through their website.  The theme of observing nature is still the same, but it is not the same book as my first draft. The picture of the baby finch is the only one that predates the monumental crash. Life went on, for another eleven years.  A marketing email from Snapfish came in with an offer for a discount on creating a photo book with them that expired on an upcoming birthday. I decided to take it as a sign to create another draft. I hit the Submit button to order a few copies. In the meantime, I’ve made small alterations and hit Submit four more times.  For the most part, I have given these copies away to friends and family with small children; three have been mailed to people I know in assisted living facilities. I set a goal for 2025 that I would decide if I was going to take this endeavor more seriously and officially publish my book. As you can see, the answer was Yes. Did I find the missing sock?  Yes, but not for several months.  It was safe in the leg of a pair of flannel pajama pants that I didn’t wear again until the following winter.  I’ve decided that if I sort the socks first, prior to hanging or folding the rest of the clothes, I will know if I have to be more observant looking in shirt sleeves or pants legs before I’ve put them away.  I have seen an adorable drawing of a Sockness Monster, responsible for eating socks in the laundry. Apparently, this is a widespread phenomenon. Follow me for more laundry tips and books.

It’s probably never going to be perfect.  I’m convinced that the greatest American novel, or whatever country you may live in, is tucked away in someone’s nightstand, hidden from the world for countless reasons.  Or, maybe it is an autobiography, sharing your most intimate thoughts. The process of refining my first book continued after I submitted it to Book Publishing Pulse.   I needed help with cover design, layout and distribution.  This was after having printed several versions using Snapfish over a period of several months.  Other than help with sizing photos, I thought I was done. A few delays may have been frustrating but new rhymes, another sentence, another picture would present itself.  I haven’t really been dreaming of being a writer all my life, but I  guess I’ve always thought it would be fun to run into a room waving a photo or text and shout, “Stop the presses!  I have an update!” In today’s world, revisions are easier.  Many books are print-on-demand or digital downloads, A new friend was a teacher and wrote a book.  When she shared it with her class, they hated it!   She never tried writing another book.  Kids can be a tough audience.  I’m going to ask her if she wants me to publish it on this website.  

Why do I have to do it? “He has fought long and hard.  He needs permission to let go.” That is what my brother’s friends said.  People that I had never met.  Some had been witness to his battle at close range, offering their guest room close to the cancer treatments. I had only seen him writhing in pain once on the bathroom floor when he had visited me several years before. When cancer comes to call, it might leave for a while and provide hope before it comes knocking again. The roller coaster of emotions is quite a ride.  You can’t get off.  You can’t run and hide. Shortly after the arrival of his second cancer diagnosis, I was driving on a dreary, foggy day.  The weather matched my mood.  A realization washed over me that he wasn’t going to make it this time.  Was that a gift to help me prepare? If a similar challenge finds you, try to accept it.  Helpers often have a way of showing up along the way. Fast forward over a quarter of a century.  I am bringing a work of creativity forward that I think deserves to live on.  In fact, when he compiled Laugh Lines, Victor was mainly keeping other people’s work alive.  It has the standard copyright, but many of the quotes are in the public domain; some biblical ones are thousands of years old.  He believed in the book enough to gather quotes, ponder their meanings and, in my opinion, compile them in an order that made them stronger than if they were standing alone.  He also added some of his own quotes.  I think the process helped him. He sold some copies but he also enjoyed sharing them with medical facilities for waiting rooms, etc. I wanted to commemorate the anniversary of what would have been Vic’s 70th birthday—the so-called three-score-and-twenty life span mentioned in the Holy Bible.  I decided to reconfigure the pages of his original booklet, which had one quote per page.  The new version fits standard copier paper and I have printed numerous copies to share with friends and family.  I also shared it digitally, dividing it into two PDFs that were within the limits for most email addresses.   Advance the calendar again and I have a new website, so now I can share the download from it.  I am grateful, once again, for my new friends at Book Publishing Pulse for helping with the technical stuff. As one friend from high school recently recalled, “He gave the best hugs!”  I’m glad that other people still remember, too.

How or why did I choose the name of my website? Child literacy is important to me. I hope that I can promote an interest in reading. Initially, I only had writing one book in mind using photos that I had collected over several years. There are other books that I am aware of that I feel are worthy of more readership than they have obtained. My thought is that I would provide some information in a blog and then include the books as recommended reading. I plan to include several of my interests—children’s literacy, caregiving support, grief support, health and humor, and art as medicine. It also includes books that promote the US Coast Guard, an organization that my family has been involved in for several generations. This is a new venture for me. I have heard of an example of someone asking a photographer what their favorite picture was. They answered that it was one they had not taken yet.  I think I can relate. I have received some encouraging comments for my first book, “What do you see? Please come walk with me.”  The book seems to be meeting my goals in encouraging people to slow down and observe the simple nature around them.  I am currently working on two more books.  What can I do to make my upcoming books even better? There is another saying, Cherish Yesterday, Live Today, Dream Tomorrow. Writing might fit all three.  I don’t think that I would enjoy being an athlete focused on one act of glory in the past.  (There’s actually about a zero chance of that happening, so no worries.)   Memories can be brought into today; today’s writing might inspire someone tomorrow.  And where will my books take me? When I shared my first Snapfish version of my book with another children’s author, she suggested that I add more rhyming words. She also suggested that I read through other children’s books to get some ideas. This led me to subscribing to Kindle Unlimited. I am thoroughly enjoying it. You can literally read some children’s books in a couple of minutes.  Cost per page, even for Kindle, which is often cheaper than a paper back book, can add up quickly.  (I wonder if there is a support group called Kindle Anonymous?)   Instant gratification is fun, too. So is enlarging the illuminated font for aging eyes. I haven’t read with a child using a tablet.  And even though my daughter has spent more time gaming than I care to admit, she still prefers reading a physical book.  Maybe it harkens back to earlier bed times of reading together.  I don’t know how quickly that may be changing for some families. As with TV streaming options, when using Kindle, suggested books come up as a result of past choices.  I found my way to two books that took quite a while to read because I kept diverting to information in other books or websites. The Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, by Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick and The Book of Awesome Women Writers:  Medieval Mystics, Pioneering Poets, Fierce Feminists and First Ladies of Literature, by Becca Anderson.