Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 9

Richardson Lake, Maine

This is the "home from the groomer!" happy face.

1. This is my Mother's Day present (photo from the catalog). We have sandy soil and this will give us a better chance to grow some vegetables. I assembled it yesterday and filled it with garden soil and compost. Now, I have to wait for the weather to be a little warmer to put plants in.

2.  This week I have a school visit in York, Maine and next Saturday, I'll be at the Children's Book Cellar in Waterville, Maine for a storytime and book signing from 10 to 12. Author (and my editor!) Kate Egan and I are doing a story time through Indies First and then signing our own books.

3. My dog, Milo, is off to the groomer's today. He doesn't like going, but he needs his summer haircut. :)

4. The daffodils and forsythia are finally blooming at my house. After a long winter, it's so beautiful to see all that yellow.

5.  Today is a mail day. I'm trying to get caught up with kids' mail to me before school gets out for the summer.

Yesterday I went to visit a kids' book group at Wentworth Intermediate School in Scarborough, Maine. The kids were delightful, and since it was such a beautiful day, I stopped at Scarborough Beach before driving home.



I saw a bird that I've never seen before. It was bright, banana yellow, and at first I thought it was a goldfinch, but it had stripes and when I came home, I looked it up. It's a yellow warbler. Such a cute, little, funny bird.

Egret, Photo by my husband, John

In Rochester, NY, I had my sixth visit to Bay Trail Middle School in Penfield. I was telling librarian Ben Griffin that they are family to me now. Such wonderful kids and staff--I've loved every trip I've made there.

This year I had several kids talk to me about their brothers and sisters with disabilities. There's an unspoken language between people who have a shared experience. When that child comes up and says to me, "I have a brother. . ." we look into each other's eyes and something happens. There aren't words for it, but it's powerful and important and soul affirming--for both of us.

And then on the plane ride home, I saw something I'd never seen before--and might never see again: a whole rainbow, which is a full circle. I didn't have my camera, but this image is from Wikimedia Commons and this is what it looked like.



By Selena N. B. H. from Fayetteville, USA (Circle rainbow in midair) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This week I had school visits in the Rochester, NY area. It was my last flights of this school year, and they were extra challenging.  On the way to Rochester, I had a connection in Philadelphia. My connecting flight was 3 hours late and my suitcase never made it onto the plane.

That night, I really wanted a "Plan B" outfit for my school visit, just in case my suitcase didn't arrive before morning as promised. I put the address of my hotel into Google and then turned on "street view" and went up and down the road looking for a clothing shop. I found one, pulled out my travel umbrella and hurried down the road because they closed at 6 and it was already 5:00.

If you're ever in need of wardrobe help in Rochester, NY, Sara Cronin at the Pendelton shop on Monroe Street, is your girl. Not only did she help me pick an outfit, she drove me back to my hotel so I didn't have to walk back in the rain.

There are a lot of good, kind people in the Rochester, NY area. I've loved every trip I've taken here.

And really, you can never have too many pairs of black dress pants.



The next day, my suitcase still hadn't come, so I had to wear my Plan B outfit.



I had a charming visit to St. Louis School, a Catholic school in Pittsford, NY. I spoke to everyone in preschool through sixth grade.

Serena Mancini, the librarian, introduced me to the little ones, saying, "Remember how Cynthia Lord's plane was very late yesterday and we prayed that she'd get to us safely?" All those little heads nodded seriously. "Well, we forgot to pray for her suitcase! Let's do that today."

The kids had created some amazing hot rods for Hot Rod Hamster and done the photo scavenger hunt in Half a Chance. And to celebrate Touch Blue, Serena had ordered whoopie pies from Wicked Whoopies in Maine, so the book club kids could try them. They were surprised how big they were!



We sent the kids off to PE all sugared up!



They had sold so many books that I signed until 4:30. And then when I got to my hotel. . . my suitcase was waiting for me. :)

Bristol, Maine. Photo by my husband, John


I love this photo that my husband took a few weeks ago. It says early spring in New England to me. And it reminds me that there is grace and beauty and power in simplicity. As I look ahead to May, that's exactly what I need to remember and focus on.

May is always a hectic month. It's a popular month for school events, and this year, I have seven. Plus, teachers assign the "Write to An Author" letter now, so there's extra mail and less time to answer it before school is done. And I'm lucky to have several books in various stages of revision and production. So May is always about keeping things simple and focused on one.

One thing at a time, one page, one letter, one trip. One foot in front of the other, all the way to June.

Yesterday, after the conference, I had some time before my flight. Susan, who was my host, asked me if I'd like to see downtown Ft. Lauderdale. I said, "Absolutely!" She even found a parking space so I could put my feet in the warmest ocean water I've ever experienced. Believe me, Susan and I were the most dressed-up people on the beach! But I loved it.

I enjoyed meeting Terry Trueman and Colin Bootman and everyone who came to the conference, especially my friend, Donna Gephart! Donna and I have been online friends for years, but this was the first time we'd met in person.

Lots of people came up to tell me stories about children they work with and Rules or Touch Blue. I also met several moms who have children with autism who wanted me to know that Rules had been an important book in their family. It was a lovely event with so many good people. I felt so much warmth: in the air and in the water, and also from the audience.

Hello from Ft. Lauderdale where the temperature is 84, the sky is impossibly blue, the palm trees are tall, and little lizards with curly tails dart out in front of my feet, making me jump!



Tomorrow, I'm speaking at the Main Library in the Broward County Library System. :)