Tag: gratitude

Birdie & Mipps’ Mom

Barbara Gruener

Our beautiful mom, Marilyn, died peacefully last Sunday after a five-year battle with dementia. She would have turned 87 next month.

The quintessential, modern-day Florence Nightingale, our mom served as a nurse in our community for 25 years during her younger years, first in the newborn nursery, then in hospice. We heard so many times how tenderly she’d given this baby its first bath, how patiently she’d pierced this girl’s ears, how compassionately she’d held that man’s hand through his passing and how lovingly she’d comforted the bereaved family.

She had five of her own children and seven foster children over the years, so our dinner table was always filled to capacity. The most beautiful thing happened the day after she died: One of our foster sisters from some 60 years ago actually reached out to offer to help pay for mom’s funeral expenses. How long do connection, compassion and kindness last? Sometimes a lifetime.

I was in the air, flying home to hold her hand and say goodbye, when she took her last breath. I like to think that I felt her essence as we hovered over the clouds and I’m pretty sure I got a soul hug from her on her way to her heavenly home.

You can read her obituary {here}; I was honored to have just written my mother-in-law’s obituary in August and I hope not to have to write another one for a while.

I found this treasure in her things while we were cleaning out her room; I remember it well because it was our first time to stay in a hotel, in Janesville, WI, because Dad and Mom were Easter Seals Ambassadors and we all went to their annual convention that year.

We will miss Mom like crazy, but we are grateful that she’s no longer feeling so lost and confused. Here’s a precious snapshot from July, when I got to read our story to her.

So I’ve spent the week in the farmhouse where she raised me, in the bedroom where she’d tuck me in at night. It’s very therapeutic as I relax and reflect.

This morning, I got the gift of this Midwest Book Review in my inbox. It’s from Suzie Housley, a thirty-year reviewer, who told me she found the cover inviting and the story excellent. And I’m grateful.

Have you read Birdie & Mipps yet? If so, what was your favorite part?

That Joyful-Gasp Feeling

Barbara Gruener

Today I’m excited about and grateful for thoughtful friends.

Just last week, I got a text from my friend, the amazing Sarah Flier, school counselor extraordinaire up in Wisconsin. This past May, she invited me to visit their school for their Young Authors’ Day celebration and she was kind enough to not only kick off her school year by reading Birdie & Mipps, but also follow-up with these kind words:

The gasp and “You got her new book?!?!!!!!!” from each class was so sweet – from 1st graders all the way to 5th! They loved it and our conversation about nicknames and respecting each other was especially sweet.

The gasp. I know it well and it’s something that I miss now that I’m not in the schools as much anymore. But I can still hear it. And I can still feel it. And it still makes my heart happy.

Another thing that makes my heart happy is getting priority mail in my mailbox.

And this particular care package has serendipity written all over it. It’s from my friend and superstar counselor, Tanya Kirschman, up in Montana. She was out shopping the other day when these earrings with a cardinal on them chirped at her. No seriously, that’s what she said. They called her by name and she simply had to get them for me. When she texted to inquire whether I wear earrings, and I said that my ears are no longer pierced, she invited her daughter Hope to upcycle the jewelry into something useful for me. Without knowing that we recently traded in our old, 2008 van for a sporty new Subaru, Hope fashioned those earrings into this keychain and a rear-view mirror chain. Opening that special delivery made my soul sing.

And if that wasn’t enough serendipity, here’s another gasp-worthy story. When we were cleaning out my mother-in-law’s office to get her house ready to sell, I found her hardcover copy of Mr. Quigley’s Keys, complete with her notes from when she read it to her sorority sisters last summer. I decided it would become my travel copy, so that a part of her would be with me at author visit, which freed up my former travel copy, in the event someone would need one. Sure enough, not even a week later, yet another incredible school counselor, Lauren Boyher, from San Antonio, sent a text to say she was planning an empathy lesson and wanted to know where the best place to buy a copy of Keys would be. As luck would have it …

… I just happen to have a “pay it forward” copy that I can add to tomorrow’s shipment. Isn’t is fun when serendipitous happy accidents find you?

Finally, this five-star review on Amazon feels positively affirming; thank you, Carol, for your thoughtful endorsement of Birdie & Mipps.

Your kind feedback gives me that joyful-gasp feeling.

When LOVE Is The Answer

Barbara Gruener

It’s THAT time again – #B2S – my favorite hashtag: Back To School!

And even though I’m not back to a specific school myself per se, I’m so excited about my upcoming author visits! In fact, yesterday I got to take this book and a little cardinal to my favorite empathy hero, one of the school counselors that I’ve been mentoring for years. What a blissful moment in time, to get a tour of her character building and 30 minutes of her time and attention. Talk about love; be still my retired-counselor heart.

I’m also grateful for this podcast episode with Craig Shapiro, a seasoned Wellness Coach in PA.

Buckle up because it’s a looooooong conversation. Might take two or three commutes if you’ve got in on your car radio. Or it’ll be a very long walk to listen from start to finish. But wow, we covered a lot of terrain and I think it’ll be worth your while. His most beautiful affirmation?

“The power of what you just said, is not what you just said … it’s how you said it.” Sigh.

I was blessed by of one of those love glimmers this week, with my son Joshua, who has been in between jobs for some time now. He’s going back to work Monday, so how does he decide to spend his second-to-the-last-day of free time? He asked for a lesson on making cinnamon rolls by scratch.

It made this Mama’s baker heart so happy. And guess what? It made me want to share the magic, so I sent some home with him, then shared a few with friends. More kindness from the kitchen, and who doesn’t LOVE this warm, home-baked deliciousness?

Doesn’t this decadence smell like love?

Here’s to being a walking and/or singing love letter and remembering that love is {almost} always the answer. Do let me know if you want to set up an author visit for your school and read-aloud of Mr. Quigley’s Keys or Birdie & Mipps.

Heart Maps

Barbara Gruener

To celebrate our students going back to school, I decided to make a heart map.

I think it’s the perfect complement for a Birdie & Mipps read-aloud, don’t you?

I also think that this card that was sent to me by our first Seed-Money Scholarship recipient is such a thoughtful selection for me. Doesn’t it just overflow your emotional reserve when something so personal is picked out for you? I mean, a Birdie card? For real??

My heart is so happy, so today I’m encouraging you to create your own name’s Heart Map while you tune in to my most-recent podcast episode, a virtual-porch reflection on gratitude with my friend, author Barbara Bray …

… featuring one of my favorite #gratitude quotes from Liz Murray.

Happy new (school) year, dear reader.

Take The Shot

Barbara Gruener

Today I’m grateful for the opportunity to sign all of these books for the school family that my intern from 2014 is joining.

That’s right, dear reader; she earned her degree in school counseling a decade ago, when my first book came out, and she has persisted for ten years through one rejection after another, continuing to touch lives as a classroom teacher with passion and verve until the right counseling position opened up for her.

P is for Perseverance, one of the chapters in What’s Under Your Cape?, so as a gift, to celebrate my intern and friend, I signed a copy for each one of her new faculty and staff.

To add an element of engagement and fun, I signed them in groups of five with matching inscriptions, so that she can give them out in a faculty meeting and challenge them to form a five-some by finding the people with the same inscription OR she can randomly put them in the staff boxes with the challenge to find their group among their peers (without using email) for a mini-poster prize.

I even found one first-printing copy in my stash and told her that I’d do an author visit for the staff member who figures out that they have that book. It gave me so much joy to meet her at Starbucks yesterday and show her how proud I am of her! Talk about stick-to-it-tiveness! Michael Jordan once said that he missed 100% of the shots that he didn’t take; Krystle took a lot of shots and missed, but chatting with her yesterday was like oxygen because she knows that this school was worth all of the blocked shots along the way as well as the wait to find her family.

Congrats, Krystle; I’m so very proud of you.

I’m also thinking about a shot as in a photograph today as I think back through the years to all of the times that I’ve played paparazzi. I’ve been intrigued by cameras and photography since I got my first camera back in the 6th grade from collecting Bazooka bubble gum comics. No joke. Before I got my Bazooka treasure, my mom used one of those boxy cameras to capture precious moments like this one from winter of 1971, with this calf named Betsy.

Some fifty-plus years later, I still love these little babies.

As a young teacher, I used a film camera to take pictures of my students; when my mom came to visit in 1989, she took the camera and snapped this shot of my classroom and me.

During my days as a school counselor, I carried a digital camera and then ultimately my iPhone, to capture Character Cam moments.

I’m so grateful for every single shot I took and had taken, because I’m so aware that you never know when it’ll be your last chance at that particular shot. Here’s a cherished moment from our siblings reunion weekend, just weeks before Mipps died. Am I ever glad we took that shot!

When I was a teenager, we got this cool shot, on the family farm in front of a silo that’s no longer there. It was the summer of 1978 and I’d been away in Chicago serving as a nanny, so my little brothers were happy to have their sister back home. You know what’s kind of weird, though? Mipps is wearing the number 53, which is exactly how many years we’d have him in our family before God called him home. Again, I’m so grateful for this photo memory.

In fact, rarely have I ever said, “Gosh, why did I take that shot?”

So today I challenge you to stay in the moment and be where your feet are, even as you freeze frame that moment in time, which so quickly becomes the shot that helps you keep those memories alive even after that season has come and gone.

And if ever it feels like you’ll never get your shot, be like Krystle and keep on shooting!

“This Treasured Tribute”

Barbara Gruener

Today I’m feeing grateful and honored by this heartfelt feedback from a passionate author, educator, and friend up in Canada whom I adore and admire so much.

Here’s a peek at the resource pages she’s referencing.

Not only did Mrs. Mac post these kind words of affirmation on Facebook, but her beautiful 4th-grade daughter also served on our First-Look Focus Team.

Here’s what Sadie had to say about our passion project: This book helped me to see that we all have precious names that deserve to be honoured and that it is ok to tell someone if you don’t want to be called by a nickname even though it is one your family might use. I like when my family calls me Sadie Pie but not when people that don’t know me do, just like Mipps.

Perfection! What are you grateful for today?

Mom’s Choice Gold Award

Barbara Gruener

So yesterday, in the midst of hurricane Beryl’s fierce and frightening fury on our town, this great news popped into my inbox …

… that Birdie & Mipps has earned a Mom’s Choice Gold Award.

We are SO very grateful to the committee of decision-makers at MCA for honoring us with this distinction. Happy July, dear reader; thank you for celebrating this milestone marker with us!

Now This Brings Tears

Barbara Gruener

I was so happy to see the Amazon truck carrying this precious cargo.

My dad’s copy of Birdie & Mipps.

His reaction to a pillow hug made from his son’s shirt holding our book was priceless.

First, he laughed.

Then, he caught his breath.

“Now this brings tears,” he admitted freely as he turned the page and saw the picture of his baby boy on the bike in the back of our book. Tears. So. Many. Tears. Tears of grief. Tears of pride. Tears of loss. Tears of gratitude. Tears of joy. Tears of what was. Tears of what isn’t anymore. Tears of missing. So. Many. Tears. Of. Missing.

And yet, we move forward, one breath, one step, one day at a time. For there are babies to be baptized, like Leah, the newest member of our family.

Do we wish Mipps could have been here for this four-generation celebration? No question. But we definitely felt his presence as we continue to grieve with the hope of one day seeing him again. Until then, we work with intention to keep his legacy of love alive by sharing his story and continuing his ministry of compassionate connections, gratitude and generosity.

Thank you, dear reader, for your interest in our book and its backstory. Have you read Birdie & Mipps yet? What was your favorite part?

It’s EmpaKEY

Barbara Gruener

This morning as I packed for my final visit of 2023, a funny thought occurred to me: What if I changed the word empathy to empaKEY?

And what an incredible day it was. I got to visit with about 700 students at North Pointe Elementary, read them my book and share the quiet echo of Mr. Quigley’s Keys with them. Their librarian, Becky, was an incredible hostess; I’d never have known it was her first author visit in that position had she not told me. Look at the adorable flyer she made.

I even got to sign a couple dozen books and it’s always a gift to run into young people I’ve known since their childhood who are now rockin’ it as passionate educators!

They had vintage keys on a string for all of the kids to take with them, which were a huge hit. It’s so fun for me to see them wearing them around school and hearing them say, “I still have my key!”

I savored every second of blasting off with these Rockets; it was a bit like coming back home since I had the pleasure of being their National Schools of Character site visitor years ago. This NSOC is an incredible place to be and I could feel the fruits of their HEART work as I roamed the halls and shared my story with their superhero students.

I pray this finds you thriving as we head into the most wonderful time of the year. If you are looking for an author visit in 2024, I am scheduling those now. I’m already booked for a return visit to my home state of Wisconsin and I’m so SO eager and blessed.

Huge holiday hugs and heaps of hygge, Barbara

Making People Happy

Barbara Gruener

It’s World Kindness Week and I have been having a blast toggling between substitute teaching and author visits at some local Career Fairs. Lots of time with kids has left my bucket overflowing!

I was excited to be able to showcase the Spanish version of Keys; these students were looking at all of our replica keys and trying to find a match to the keys on our cover.

Everywhere I go, these tiny treasures continue to be the biggest hit. Yesterday, a conversation with a third-grade boy went like this: Do these keys open anything? he asked curiously. Hearts, I reply without skipping a beat. Oh yeah, he nodded knowingly, you did say it was a kindness key.

This young lady wanted to know more about the missing key. You see, she’d read our story with her school counselor and they discussed the key behind Mr. Quigley’s knee in the mural. I explained that it’s up to every reader to decide which trait was on that key, so she told me she thought either heart or respect. I affirmed her choices and told her that I think it might have been compassion or patience and she agreed that those would work, too.

One student wanted to know if I liked my job, so I said yes before turning the tables on him by asking him what he thought the best part of my job was. His answer? Making. People. Happy.

Spot on, little buddy, spot on. Oh, how I love to make people happy. But not just the temporary kind of happiness that might come from eating an ice cream cone. No, that’s lovely and all, but I want to help people feel JOY (one of our keys to connection!) deep down in their souls, to their very core. I do that by lighting up for people, by delighting in their presence, and by getting curious about who they are, what they want or need, what they dream about, what they’re going through. What their sorrows and successes are. Where they’ve been and where they’re going. Not in a fake, glossy sort of way, but wholeheartedly with them, unwrapping the present together. Good or bad, comfortable or uncomfortable. It’s my calling and it’s a gift of epic abundance. It’s the legacy I plan to leave in the people whose paths I’m blessed to cross.

So as we close in on Thanks {and} Giving 2023, my question is this: How do YOU share your joy in such a way that it makes people happy?

Tell us in the comments or drop me a line; I always loving hearing from my readers.