40th Anniversary - Hope For The Flowers

I am 41, but today Hope For the Flowers  by Trina Paulus turns 40. This means that Stripe and Yellow have entered their middle age, as well. Fortunately, I was invited to spend the celebration with the author in Montclair, New Jersey, today, as several readers offered their linguistic power to read chapters of the text in several languages in which the allegory was written.

To meet Trina Paulus was a true honor and to be in her presence was even more incredible, especially considering the 16 years that have happened between the first time a teacher read it to me and the history it has had in my life ever since.

I think, too, that the day was more powerful because I braved the traffic from Connecticut and got to see a literary hero. I wasn't sure if I was emotionally ready for the voyage, but when I started the day I realized that Hope For The Flowers, in a way, is what Lois Minto stood for. She also stood for celebrating life and I knew I needed to go after the rainy Saturday with zest and oomph. What's a little rain?

I know, today, that I will unwind a bit and begin to process what it is going to take to go into work on Monday. I have graduate student projects to grade and, last night at Lois's sister, I bit into a piece of lasagna (I know it's soft) but somehow lost half a tooth.

Happy Mother's Day. I am my mother's son! It saddens me that I'm not in Syracuse but I will take the maternal energy to make the most of this Sunday. I have a lot of mental work to do in order to comprehend the last 48 hours.