Why Dogs Beg

Want to know why dogs beg? Mine does and no wonder. There are always tasty bits under my daughter's chair. But I digress. I do ... and the answer is in the grand prize winning entry in the March issue of Children's Writer authored by none other than my dear friend Bish, who's been regaling us with stories from the Virgin Islands on her blog. Boy, that's a long sentence. I can breathe now.

I've had the pleasure of reading her collection of Anansi stories, which my kids loved too, and I hope that one day it will be a book. Don't believe me? Jane Yolen said so, too.

Congratulations, Bish!

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Thanksgiving and Birthdays

I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite American holiday and not just because the focus is on thanks and giving and food, lots of food. See, my mother's birthday falls near Thanksgiving and I can't help but think about her and what an extraordinary woman she was.
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Recently, my uncle emailed me some old pictures (I don't have a scanner) so it's lovely to share this picture of my mom at age 22. Isn't she simply beautiful? I can almost hear her voice, her silvery bell laugh. She's married, keeps house, is a mother of two boys already. My sister and I haven't yet arrived on scene. She died over twenty years ago at the age of 51. I still miss her.
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I share stories about her with my children and she will live in their hearts long after I'm gone. I'm writing a few vignettes -- things I remember, things she told me -- and I hope it will paint a fuller picture.
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Not only was she a character in real life, but I've borrowed many of her traits for mothers in my stories. Driving Lessons, my young-adult short story contest winner (Children's Writer) a few years ago, captures her voice. I really should find a home for that story ... ah, the writing life. I am thankful to have one. Very much.

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