A Moment That Stopped Me at a Book Booth
Dear Friend,
I hope the school year is off to a great start and that these early weeks are going smoothly for students, parents, and teachers alike. New routines can be hard, but there’s something hopeful about fresh beginnings.
A Thought From the Road
I was at a vendor market recently when a woman stopped at my booth, smiling as she looked through my books. She looked up at me and said, “Aww… when my son was very young, he fell in love with reading.”
She went on to tell me that she would wake up in the middle of the night and find him sitting up, reading under the covers. He read everything and anything. As he got older, he did very well in school and even scored nearly perfectly on his SATs.
I told her how incredible that was.
Then she said something that caught me completely off guard:
“I just wish he had channeled it into something I could brag about.”
And with that, she smiled and walked away.
I stood there stunned.
It got me thinking about parenting and the expectations we place on our children, sometimes without even realizing it. Of course we want the best for them. Who doesn’t? But what if our idea of “the best” isn’t their version of happiness or success?
What if the thing that lights them up doesn’t look impressive from the outside?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and I’ve decided that what I want most is to be my children’s eternal cheerleader. To root for them loudly and unapologetically, no matter how their path unfolds.
This is one of the reasons I love meeting people at these events. The stories shared, sometimes in just a sentence or two, can teach you more than you expect.
Barnes & Noble Weekend
I also had an absolute blast signing books at Barnes & Noble this past weekend. There’s something incredibly special about hearing people’s stories and seeing their faces light up as they discover the books. Moments like that never get old, and I’m so grateful for every conversation and every smile.
Thank you, as always, for being here and for supporting this journey. I hope the rest of January treats you kindly, and that you find little moments of joy tucked into the everyday.
Until next time,
A.B. Wade
Author of the On The Farm Collection