Come Fly With Me!
(I fully intended to send this update right after the 4th of July. But with the flooding in Texas and all those people lost…and the devastation, there was no celebrating. There was only hoping, praying, sending strength and energy.) We continue to hope with love and light.
Hello dear friends! If you are reading this, you are one of the reasons for this post. Because without you I would have given up writing—scratch that, don’t think I’ll ever give up writing…(I might have given up trying to get any of my scribbles published, though.) You inspire me! Imaging you reading my words, hopefully chuckling along the way I did when I wrote it. And maybe sometimes feeling that satisfied awwwwww.
So right now, I hope you’ll raise whatever your delight du jour and celebrate with me, because I have wonderful news!
At long last my newest picture book will be landing July 22nd!
Surprise!—it is not about baseball!
The ART! Let me tell you about the art illustrator K.M. Brown created to bring my words to life. It’s not like any of my other books—or many other picture books for that matter. It’s sort of got an anime vibe—as does K.M. (who goes by Katie.) Find out more about Katie from the Q&A she did a few months back. Katie spills secrets! Here’s the link to K.M. Brown’s Q & A.
There’s a lot of fun stuff on the Rainbow Kite page on my website. Along with K.M.’s interview there are book-in-progress sketches. And soon, there will be Activities, because my buddy, award-winning author Doris Fisher is creating them. And Doris is a puzzle wiz!
And YOO-HOO teachers and librarians…parents too. Coming soon is a Teaching Guide with crafts. Another buddy, award-winning author, Pinterest Guru Deb Gonzales, founder of PinLit, is bit-by-bit putting it together…
Rainbow Kite is available for Pre-Order now! (And if you’d like a digital copy to review—we need those reviews—pop me a note.
And mostly . . . . Thank you for your support! Kelly always and all ways!
Totally Cool
Cool to be Busy or Hip to be Boring?
Yesterday morning, on hold with a ticketing agent, while reading email and checking Instagram, this article entitled, Cool to be Busy, popped up. I didn’t have time to read more than the headline just then—the operator clicked on—had too much going on to get back to it, later, so I never learned where the article went. But, maybe I didn’t need to know . . .
California Dreaming:
As a teen in Southern California, in The Beach Boys 70s, in Huntington Beach, when “sunscreen” meant sitting on the shady side of Lifeguard Stand #5, it was cool to be busy. (Having nothing to do, nowhere to go, was just sad, dude.) We were totally cool, and kept ourselves totally busy—working on our tans.
Being tan was cool & tanning was a job. Job performance was judged by our tan lines. Fading was not an option! “Tanning” was a top item on our To-Do lists. An overachiever even then, I put in my hours and then some “working” on my tan. Which, even I’ll admit, was a pretty mindless task. As long as I minded the sun’s position, turned & basted accordingly, I was free to mentally pass the time doing whatever I liked: reading, dozing, people watching, daydreaming.
Grandboys at the Lake
I was trying to find a snap of my kids back when but the photos have all gone yellow—yes it was that long ago…
Lazy, crazy, hazy daze of Momming:
Later, as a mother in the 80s and 90s, in “Bring on those babies” Tulsa, Oklahoma, “Momming”—Play Dates, Swim Lessons, T-Ball, Soccer, Dance—replaced “Tanning” on my to-do list. While the name had changed, commitment-wise “Mom events” were much the same as Tanning: schedules chunks of the day during which, aside from tossing out cautions or cheers, depending, my job was to be there. And while I was there, mentally pass the time however I wanted: reading, dozing, chatting, people watching, daydreaming.
Fast Forward to Now:
If busy is cool, I am the Coolest! But, busy cool now doesn’t make me feel as chill as back then, it just makes me tired. Why?
Now, looking back on those golden unplugged days of yore, I miss having “Tanning” and “Momming” on my To-Do list! Not that I miss having to doing them. “Tanning” and “Momming” were definitely not Free Time. I wasn’t free to go or do what I wanted. (After all, my job was to minding my tan, or my children, depending.) Because the nature of the tasks, “Tanning” and “Momming” required me to be some place physically, while mentally leaving me free to do or think—or not—as I pleased, call it ME TIME.
(As I define it, ME TIME is some scheduled time in the day when I absolutely cannot Go or Do or Produce anything for any purpose other than to pass the time.)
So, if “Cool to be Busy,” is cool! It’s time I played it real cool by getting busy, getting in some ME TIME. How about you?
Scheduling Me Time:
Step 1: Take an honest look at your weekly schedule and find a slot for ME TIME. (How much time depends on you, your schedule, and your guilt threshold.)
Step 2: Don’t take NO! Find Time—15 minutes here, 10 minutes there, half-an-hour on a Sunday—Time you would, or could, or used-to reserve for _____________ (Insert your equivalent of “Tanning”).
Step 3: Imagine yourself laying on the beach, slathered in Bain de Soleil. Don’t move or you’ll muss your tan lines! Don’t touch or you’ll get sand in your device! Can’t scroll cause there’s sun glare on the screen!
Step 4: What’s left? List things you want to/enjoy/miss that you don’t allow time for now. For Example:
Reading for fun
daydreaming
baseball games
People Watch
Taking a nap
Organize photos
Stamp Collection
Write letters/cards
Build a model airplane
Work a puzzle
Watch the grass grow
Work on your non-tan (SPF 100 & hat mandatory)
Be Totally Cool!
Totally Cool Playlist:
Spring Fling Writing Contest
Call me an April Fool, but I can’t resist a fun challenge!
So when I learned that agent Kaitlyn Leanne Sanchez and her critique bud Ciara O’Neal were hosting a writing contest I leaped at the opportunity.
The Spring Fling submission window is only open for 3 days. No April Foolin!
Deadline for posting your story is April 3, 2025 at 11:59 pm CT. (That’s 12:59 am April 4th, in NY)
SO GET BUSY…. the challenge they’ve set, should you choose to accept it, is below: Scroll down down first to the gif I chose and then to read my entry.
(If that’s not incentive enough, the link to the writing contest there too.)
I took on the challenge by starting with a search.
I googled “Spring” GIF
Finally one stirred me. Below is the result:
.
No matter what comes of it, the Spring Fling challenge was fun, and inspiring—and made me very, very hungry. I’m off to the bakery!
Still a few hours left. Give it a try. (Or if you’re reading this after, go check out the various, inspiring, fun, silly, amazing, heartful, entries! Here’s the link: