Life imitating art

Oh, this one is so good, you won't believe me.

"Surely she jests," you'll say aloud. (Because that's how I imagine my readers speak to their phones/computer screens.)

I almost forgot about this story because, well, a year is a LONG time, and a lot happens! But, as I set the scene, it was almost exactly one year ago. My mom sent us a book, as she often does. She loves to dig and find awesome, creativity-boosting books that get our little thinkers thinking. (Love that!)

(Quit scrolling ahead! It'll be worth it. Wait for it!)

This time, in addition to the normal hustle and bustle, we were packing, getting ready to take our four- and six-year-old cross-country. We planned to celebrate Christmas with all our California relatives and, while we were hopeful, we were dreading the hours in planes, airports and hotels.

Don't forget: I was about halfway through my pregnancy, and it hadn't been easy to that point. I'd had a number of miscarriage scares, and the demands of family travel were weighing on me.

So, enter this book.

You might just die when you learn what it was.

My prenatal health ended up being fine (as soon as my placenta checked itself and migrated to the right place!), but both Elliott and Patrick came down with Christmas colds. (SO fun when you're a kid with a cold, and your ears won't pop on a cross-country flight! Ahhhh, to relive those moments with the flight attendants and everyone in every row in sight!)

At any rate, that book my mom sent really helped us keep the boys calm and engaged. They loved it! It was a fanciful book, full of imagination and ideas. And it's just so great when you're reading and feel like you're almost watching seeds plant. Like the ideas are jumping out of the book and right into these little sponges we call our children.

So, ready to know what we read?

Seriously.

You won't believe it!

Ready?

Boom--