My I-Didn't-Know-It-Then-But-I-Know-It-Now Best Day Ever

I count my Blessings like a lawyer, on the quarter-hour basis.

That's how grateful I am.

So when tasked to choose My Best Day Ever from a bounty of Best Days

both personal and professional, I was downright flummoxed.

Confounding the matter was that my mind was already otherwise 

engaged, remembering, reflecting, fully-focused on My Best Boy and his 

upcoming March 4th Big Five-O Birthday.

One remembrance continued to pop up, and each time it did, I felt my 

heart smile:

my son at two, settled in my lap, uncharacteristically still, 

uncharacteristically quiet, as we found ourselves lost in a Mr. Rogers

episode.

Fog had descended upon the world of Make-Believe - an enormous 

close-to-the-ground cloud, Mr. Rogers explained, so that Bob Dog 

couldn't find his stone.

Jon's dark brown eyes widened at the wonder of it all.  When Lady 

Elaine used her boomerang to lift the fog, his mouth formed a perfect 

"O."

Whatever this thing was, with the snap of a finger it made 

everything and everyone DISappear, but then, just like that, begin to 

REappear! It was Pure Magic and my Best Boy wanted some.

By the time Mr. Rogers finished singing "Wishes Don't Make Things 

Come True," I heard myself whispering, "Yes! Yes!"

Bob Dog had found his stone but even better, I had found my 

long-ago Dream to someday, one day, write a children's book!

"Jon," I said, "Mommy's writing you a picture book, all about a little 

boy who wants to catch a piece of the fog.  You'll have it by your 

very next Birthday."

I now know: that day's promise of a book not only set me on a 

professional path I liken to my very own Yellow Brick Road.

It forced me to mine my pluck and grit, to keep marching forth in 

step with my Best Boy, sometimes even over, under and through, 

to recover my buried voice so I could realize my Dream.

It picked me up every time I fell; it chased away all doubts and 

fears.

True, the road was longer than first imagined; I greatly under-

estimated my arrival time.

(FYI: I honored my promise nineteen years later, though with a

different story. The Fogcatcher, alas, still awaits publication.)

But to my surprise, despite the Despites, not only did honoring

that promise gift me with countless unimagined unexpected

Kodak Moments - Best Days, if you will. It continues to do so.

Just like my sunny Sonny Boy, it's the gift that keeps on

giving.

Each time I added an appositive noun to my name - author,

award-winner, teacher, writing coach, colleague, friend and

amazingly, blogger, each time I advocated for children's

book creators, I could feel my heart smile. 

"Who would have thunk it?" I'd hear myself ask.

Hopefully, each Thanku I posted over the years adequately 

expressed my gratitude - for my "storied treasures," my 

"new berries," my mentors, our Children's Book World, my 

fellow bloggers and you, our Readers.

This one, however, long over-due, I'm tucking inside my

Best Boy's Birthday card.

       My Sunny Son Jon

       A Maker of Dreams Come True

       Marching forth always!

Here's to discovering your Best Days Ever!

Esther Hershenhorn

p.s.

Thanks to Laura Purdie Salas for hosting today's Poetry Friday.