Making Memories

By Heather Shumaker

I took my kids on my book tour -- partly so they'll have life memories. Nothing like trading hats with the train conductor.

It's a bit of dilemma when you're writing a book about parenting: how will my kids (and my parenting) be judged when I'm out in public?  Will they appear competent and compassionate as the book subtitle indicates?  Should I bring them on my book tour with me?

Of course, a book tour would be much easier without the kids in tow.  But I'd miss them, and most of all, they'd miss the chance to form memories.  Ten or twenty years from now, I'd like to hear them say, 'Oh, yeah, that was the time we took the train out to Boston when Mom's first book came out.'  (Hopefully I would be on my 12th book by then!) In the end, convenience lost and making memories won.

The whole family took the train out east, a 21-24 hour journey, and together we explored parts of New England.  My youngest traded hats with a friendly train conductor named Bob.  My oldest mapped out all the station stops from the Midwest to Boston's South Station.  The trip for me involved TV and radio interviews and getting dressed up for book signing events.  The trip for them involved running around the garden with cousins and drooling toothpaste with new found friends when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed.  We both made memories.

Writing a book has meant leaving my kids with babysitters more than usual.  Over the course of the last year there have been days with long hours and days they barely saw their mother.  I'd like to attach some positive memories to the process.  Maybe it's working.  My four-year-old now grins when he spots the cover and calls out "Mama's book!" My seven-year-old told me yesterday he knows what he'd like to be when he grows up: "An author just like you."

Were you involved at all in your parents' work life?  Do you have any early memories of family trips or events?

4 responses to “Making Memories”

  1. I grew up as a "Ford Brat." For three years starting when I was eight, my dad drove the family in the latest model of sedan or coupe (4-door or 2-door) across country from the Ford Plant in Livonia, Michigan to the Ford Proving Grounds in Kingman, Arizona. I think the masking tape the company put over the chrome letters to hide the company logo and specific model brought more attention, demanding that my father leave more than one meal on the road to chat with the gathering people peaking under the tape. Sometimes on a Saturday, Dad would take me into work with him to take a lap around the test track around tight curves on strips where ramps lifted one side of the car onto two wheels at high speeds. I'd smile,remembering that day every time a television ad featured a new car being run through its paces on the very same track.

    • Heather Shumaker says:

      Wow! What great memories! Driving across country in the latest-and-greatest model and doing laps around the test track sure sound like fun. Sounds as if your dad really loved including the family. What a treat - thanks for sharing.

  2. Oh how fun to have your children along! I love the photograph you've shared in this post - wonderful!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Heather
Shumaker
Get new blog posts by email
twitterfacebookyoutube-play