So yesterday was not only International Day of Peace, but it was also a pretty special Sunday for me as an author. First, I reflected on how we celebrated this important calendar date when I was the school counselor at Westwood Elementary. Imagine ‘Whirled’ Peace, 1000 pinwheels strong; our students were Peacemakers, for sure.
Then, pictures of Knit Back Together being delivered started showing up. The first one was a picture from my cousin Amy in Illinois announcing that her book had been delivered.
This one is extra-special because she’s got a family history room in their home which houses a bunch of artifacts from our ancestors, including the slippers that my Grandma Larsen knit, the seed for our realistic-fiction piece.
Then I got this picture from two of our Young Minds Focus Teammates, Cecily and Daisy.
Since they’ve been making the story’s swag, I had gotten them a copy as well, so when mine arrived, off we went to their place for another special delivery.
It was my heart’s delight to sign their books and listen to them read my story aloud.
I received a few more before bedtime with some really kind feedback, all of which overflowed my bucket. As if that weren’t enough excitement, my episode of Brandon Beck’s Unlocking Unlimited Potential podcast dropped during the night and I got to share my personal story and talk about collaborating with an illustrator to create my picture books.
Tune in {here} to listen in on our conversation about educating by and for the heart.
My heart is full as I work with intention to put love out into the world in thought, word, and deed. Do reach out if ever I can help you in your character building.
Barbara Gruener 