July 7th

My bittersweet day as I’ve always called it. Many of you already know where this is going, but for my new peeps, I’ll try to keep this short.

So July 7th, why it is bittersweet? Let me tell you.

My dad was born on July 7th. It was easy to remember as a kid because it comes almost right after the 4th of July celebrations. So in a way, it was like celebrating with fireworks a little early. Even though he’s not physically here anymore, I still celebrate. I wish him a happy birthday and I hope he’s in heaven enjoying the peace and quiet with a cigar and something interesting to watch. I can’t describe how much I miss my dad. He was literally my superhero. I really never thought about him dying because superheroes live forever. So today, I celebrate his birthday, his life.

Keeping with the bitter part of the day, July 7th apparently is just one of those dates that is destined to stay with me forever. In 2018 I spent a good part of the night of the 6th and the morning awake and on the phone. Why? Because my grandmother (mother’s mom), was in the hospital. My little sister drove up (I was in Florida, grandmother was in Jersey) from Maryland to be my eyes and ears. Just after seven in the morning, my sister called. It wasn’t the call I wanted to get. So, now on top of an already not so great day, my grandmother passed. Now, my grandparents were literally like second parents. We would spend so much time up there in the summer. My grandmother would take me to work with her at the funeral home and then off on random adventures. So I was very close to my grandparents. Losing her was hard. Almost as hard as it was losing my dad.

Something both my grandmother and dad always told me was to do what I want to do in life to be happy. For me, that’s writing books. I love creating worlds and stories. I’ve been writing since I was young and they both knew how much I love it.

Now for the sweeter side of that day…

Just after nine in the morning in the middle of crying and trying to figure out what to do next I received an email. It was from Crazy Ink letting me know that the manuscript I had submitted was accepted and would be published later that year.
Yeah. I was so excited, but at the same time, still so sad to have lost my grandmother and know my father wasn’t there to celebrate his birthday. What a crazy emotional day!

Looking back on it. It was meant to happen like that. I one hundred percent believe that they tossed a little magic my way not wanting that day to be completely sad.

I’ve been published now for eight years. I’ve been without my grandmother for eight years. I’ve been celebrating my dad’s birthday without him for fourteen years. Today is bittersweet. Today I’ll be sad, but I’ll also be writing because today is not just all about being sad, it’s also about celebrating the fact that eight years ago someone amazing took a chance on me and my books.

Thank you Erin for showing me that I can do it. Thank you for being an amazing friend, publisher, and mentor. When I grow up, I want to be just like you!

I miss you dad, Happy Heavenly Birthday.
I miss you grandmom.
Happy eight years to being published!

If you’ve made it this far, awesome! Thank you. And today go do something you love. Even if it’s something small, do it.