The Birth of a Picture Book
I don't really remember the exact day that it came about, but I do remember that I'd decided to take a nap. Nothing feels better to a pregnant woman than some great sleep - the kind of sleep that doesn't visit very often in the third trimester. That day, I was ready, it was the couch...and my pillow was in that special configuration (I love it when that happens).
Just as I was dozing off, an idea for a poem - a dream-story - started taking shape in my mind. Two toy characters - a patchwork rabbit and a Teddy bear - introduced themselves and began to write their story in rhyme. Needless to say, the nap didn't happen, but something else did. For the next two weeks after Nap Day, I wrote this story in the mornings, evenings, lunch breaks - whenever I could - and finished it. And I kept going...
Maybe it was hormones...those crazy things. People do stuff they wouldn't normally do because of hormones. And there's nesting, another interesting pregnancy behavior. Wiping down cabinets, cleaning out closets, scrubbing, painting...things a baby will notice right away when you bring him home. "Hey, is that a new color on the wall? Nice choice. Yellow. Very practical. And you sealed the grout in the bathroom...good job. You should do that every year, you know. "
Or maybe it was because I wanted to communicate with our son, or maybe he wanted to
communicate with us from "beyond the uterus". Hmm...fodder for another blog post [scribbling notes]. Honestly, I think I just had a story or two to tell. Everyone has a story...I truly believe that. But not every story makes it out of the person, and if it does, well...it just might have a chance at life. What is the life of a story, you ask? I say it's the chance to be told, to be heard, to be read, to be shared...
And that's just what I plan to do. To share my stories, and the stories of me. It never really occurred to me to write, illustrate and publish a children's book until Nap Day. And maybe it was hormones, I don't know...but I do know one thing. You have stories, too...and if they're still inside you, and we walk this journey together, they just might have a chance at life.
Because someone clever once said, "The journey of a thousand steps begins with a nap."
Have you ever hatched an idea from a dream state? Share your stories below!
