Tag: love

1825 Sunsets

Barbara Gruener

Hey hey, dear reader, happy September 2026! This summer was filled with incredibly precious moments and magical memory makers for me. What started in June with a once-in-a-lifetime mother-daughter birthday trip to NYC, continued in July with an anniversary celebration on a breathtaking Alaskan Cruise, and ended in August with an impromptu and inspiring road trip back home to Wisconsin when our nearly-ninety-year-old father showed up in his car in Texas, with a paper map and no idea how big our state is, to meet his new great granddaughter. Sigh.

And what an amazing adventure it was! The first day, we drove as far as Hot Springs, Arkansas, where we spent the night with the cousin who was my best friend in childhood. It was like oxygen to be with her again.

The second day, we drove for twelve hours all the way back to our hometown of Wayside, WI, so that Dad could get back to his corn ministry at church. We listened to classical music, shared stories from our lifetimes, and laughed so much it hurt. An incredible gift, one I’ll never forget.

While in Wayside, more laughter when Lori and Dave stopped by en route to a pre-season Packers game to reconnect and reminisce. How special to have these hometown friendships that have stood the test of time, fifty-plus years, to be exact. Dave brought six of my books to donate and signing them was such an honor to me.

Just look at how happy my Dad looks. August 25th marked the five-year anniversary of Mipps’ death, so signing a copy of Birdie & Mipps in front of him with our sibling picture hanging on the wall behind him felt like a serendipitous full-circle moment.

It’s hard to believe that he has missed 1825 sunsets since he left us. Mipps did love a good sunset, and this one is especially personal because that’s our family farm in the distance.

So I’m back in Texas now and ready for some R & R from my travels, so thankful for life’s sweetness and for the reminder about what really matters: Faith. Family. Friends. Fellowship.

I’m also grateful to hear from readers; here’s an email I received while I was away.

**************************************

Hi Barbara,

I came across Knit Back Together, and I found the emotional heart of Levi’s story incredibly touching.

What immediately stood out to me is that Levi isn’t simply dealing with the loss of someone he loves. After the sudden passing of his beloved Grams, he is left trying to understand how to move forward when the person who had been his guiding light is suddenly gone.

Then he arrives at a new school carrying that grief with him, only to discover something unexpected: a knitting center in his classroom and a new friendship with Frances.

I especially liked the symbolism of knitting in the story.

Levi’s heart feels broken, and yet the very activity that initially seems unfamiliar to him becomes part of his healing.

The question of whether knitting is “just for girls” or “just for grandmas” also gives the story another meaningful layer, allowing children to challenge assumptions while discovering that creativity, friendship, and emotional healing belong to everyone.

And the idea of being “knit back together” gives the book a beautiful way to talk about grief without making the story feel hopeless.

****************************************

Thank you, Chloe, for your kind reflections.

Oddly enough, these summertime opps knit me back together in a way that I didn’t know I needed.

And I’m forever grateful.

So as I continue celebrating my 65th year, do let me know if there’s anything that I can do this upcoming school year to support you in your character building.

Happy cheers!

Sticking Our Necks Out

Barbara Gruener

Today, Jupiter and I started the day in a beautiful new media center with some very respectful Giraffes at Whitcomb Elementary.

And what a morning it was. There was SO much laughter as my puppet stole the show. My husband, who doubles as my driver, was laughing so hard I saw tears.

We started with a ukulele song, to wake Jupiter up from his cat giraffe, nap. It truly is the sweetest thing when the students who know the song join me in singing, You Are My Sunshine.

First-grade Sophie asked me if I play the ukulele because I’m happy, so I said yes, and that it makes me happy and calms me down when I get nervous, the perfect segue for talking through the therapeutic benefits of music.

Then, as I’m about to introduce Jupiter, who goes by Junior, he’s vigorously shaking his head no, and tells the crowd he’s decided to change his nickname to just JuJu. So I say, “Ok, Giraffe friends, I’d like you to meet Just JuJu.”

As you might imagine, that’s where the giggles begin.

As the laughter subsides, we dialogue back and forth, talking about the importance of names, we share a few of our own nicknames, then we read the book aloud, me in the role of Birdie, and JuJu playing the part of Mipps.

Since the story’s theme is empathy, after our read-aloud time, it’s time to teach the Empathy Switch: Thumbs up on the right hand represents you, pinky up on the left hand represents me. Now switch. Now switch back, then switch again.

Almost immediately, I heard groans of “this is really hard” and “I can’t do it,” so we slow it down and practice while we recite together: It’s empathy, it’s empathy. When you put yourself in place of me, that’s empathy.

Trust me, it gets more fluid with practice. And practicing empathy is a beautiful way to stick our necks out,

Then, it was time for their questions: How old is JuJu? How long have you been playing the ukulele? When did you start writing? If JuJu’s real name is Jupiter, does that mean he likes space? How old was our librarian when she was a student in your Spanish class? Can we pet Junior?

As they left, each K-2nd grade participant got a sticker, made by Cecily, to help them remember to write from the heart and to always show empathy, the key to human connection. Thank you, Ceci, for your partnership!

I’m so grateful to get to do these author Meet ‘n Greet visits and I’m looking forward to see where my books will take me next school year.

Happy slide into summer, dear reader.

Our Mom’s Choice Gold Award

Barbara Gruener

I find it so serendipitous that our book earned a Mom’s Choice Gold Award on what would have been my mom’s 88th birthday. Sigh. If only I could share that news with her.

We are honored, grateful, and excited to be endorsed by the MCA family.

After returning to TX from WI, this week included visits with 10 classes to read the book and talk about the writing process with budding authors and illustrators in grades four and five at Bales Intermediate.

The visits all began by talking about selecting a theme – mine is empathy! – and jazzing it up a little with this poem I wrote using the hand-jive motions. Then we talk about choosing a topic, and I share the back story of the unfinished slippers that we found in my grandma Larsen’s closet at her passing, and how, some 15 years later, I was able to finish them and give them to my mom for her stay in the assisted living home.

After reading the story aloud with the illustrations projected on the big screen, I take questions and comments from our listening audience. How it makes my soul sing to hear their feelings, thoughts, and reflections about the text and McKenna’s heartfelt artwork. One young man told me that he noticed I used a lot of literary elements; another asked for my autograph.

In a fun twist, my illustrator was their Art teachers in the primary grades, so they already love her and know so much about using color to convey emotions and mood.

At the end, the most thoughtful thing happened: Mrs. Dixon presented me with a plate of Monster Cookies, from the recipe that she found in the back of the book.

It touched my heart so profoundly that she would not only bake for us, but make Gramma Emma’s cookies. She’s walking the talk as she gives empathy, compassion, and kindness wings.

One last shot from a school visit that has imprinted itself on my heart …

… my wish for you, dear reader, is that you will forever be able to find and feel this kind of unbridled joy.

International Day Of Peace

Barbara Gruener

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.

A #DaveBurgessShow Guest

Barbara Gruener

Today I’m excited and grateful to share that Wednesday I had the honor of connecting with the Pirate himself, Dave Burgess, and being a guest on his podcast, the Dave Burgess Show.

For almost a decade, I have been following Dave’s journey on Twitter, from the time his first book, Teach Like A Pirate, went viral until now, when he has published education titles too many to count. My all-time favorite challenge of his over the years is this:

Ten years a fan, so you can imagine how excited I was to connect via Zoom this week to talk about all things Birdie & Mipps, Mr. Quigley’s Keys, and being connectors on social media. After our chat, Dave posted this affirmation on Facebook and Insta:

Sigh. Be still my fan-girl heart.

So, what did we talk about besides my books? Reflection listening! Here’s a peek at my slide deck from that PALs session I got to lead on Tuesday.

At the risk of sounding corny, I’d just come back from harvesting season on the family farm, so yeah, I used two ears of corn to create intrigue.

It was so interesting to hear the teens share their ideas of the difference between the listening and hearing; I love this wisdom from Simon Sinek.

After a few role plays, we talked through these empathy reflections.

They each chose a few little antique keys to remember these key connecting statements.

Have a listen to podcast episode 61 to hEAR how I engaged them in that lesson. Could I have sold tickets to it? Not sure, but I left there with a spring in my step, for sure.

Happy harvesting, dear reader. 🌽🌽

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.