This Road Trip has been amazing. I’ve been an incredibly lucky author. I figure I traveled about 5,000 miles, talked to 4,000 kids, visited 10 school and 25 bookstores, stayed in 8 hotels, shook countless hands and signed countless books. (In 13 mornings, I received 12 wake-up calls. See previous post for details.)
I will be thinking about the people I met for months, especially the teenagers.
But I’m here to tell you, a trip like this can leave you feeling like yesterday’s gum stuck on a subway platform.
And then, a miracle happened.
Like I said, Terry Truman and I went to Kevin K’s house (and the house of his terrific wife, Kathleen) for a family dinner after the conference. Kathleen and Kevin are the parents of Abigail and Rachael. Along with feeding me, they let me play with their daughters, carry them around, pretend to be superheroes, and draw. Hanging out with little kids is the best medicine in the world. By the end of the evening I was still tired, but I felt whole again.
Happy, happy author.
The King family joined us again for breakfast, so I got another dose of little kid-goodness before I had to step on the plane. It was heavenly. The French toast was pretty good, too.
This is what I look like to a 4-year old.
More tomorrow, including the freaky coffee cups story. And maybe a writing prompt, if any of youse need something to write about.