June Is a Funny Month

June is often filled with graduations (in-person or virtual), and lot of endings. The end of a school year. The end of high school or college. It’s definitely a funny month, full of change.

In this strange time of COVID, many children did not go to school at all in June, and many missed out on their graduations. I was sad to miss two graduations in my family: my daughter’s EMBA from Wharton, and my younger grandson’s graduation from high school. Before the pandemic, I had looked forward to celebrating with both of them, cheering them on to their next adventure. Instead, it was a quiet, online celebration.

In years past, I celebrated so many things with my family. When my older grandson was in high school, I traveled to every marching band competition in the State of South Carolina, ready to cheer my heart out. And when he played a solo gig in a coffee shop, I was there, learning to survive death metal music!

Like many families, we attended dance recitals, school plays, parent-teacher nights. But June was a quiet month for family events this year.

However, unlike many years in the past, June was a beginning for me. I found someone to help me find the best way to tell people about my book. He helped me master Instagram and Facebook and had so many suggestions for things I never thought of. So I have been busy since June, learning and writing and creating new stories to put on my web site.

I found a wonderful young woman to help me rebuild my web site and make it sparkle! I wanted it to be magical, a place that parents and grandparents would want to visit, and children might want to enjoy a story or two!  I knew I wanted the site to have images of Christmas that would delight children and adults alike (they certainly delight me!)

I’m also working on another children’s book. I’m not ready to announce it yet, but this is a good time of year to think about it and start planning adventures for a little boy named Billy. The challenge is – can Billy do a good job of finding Christmas, like his friend, Belinda? Will he have different ideas about what Christmas might be? One thing I know about Billy is that he is full speed ahead, just like Belinda. But he doesn’t have a cat; he has a dog named Boomer, and Boomer is full speed ahead too.

In some ways, I feel that my readers are helping me to write this new book. People have ideas and suggestions, and I am delighted if they share them! The Contact Us page has a form, and I am always ready for suggestions, so be sure to send them along! I’ll keep you posted on my progress on this new book and hope you’ll keep me up to date on your reading favorites!  See you next month!