I was fortunate and honored to be a part of Career Day again this year at Calvert Elementary School in Aldine ISD in Houston.  I enjoyed getting to see other community leaders I've met in the past year or so and meeting new ones as well.  Although at the end of the day I'm tired and have cotton mouth, I absolutely LOVE getting to visit the school and read my books and talk about them.  These kids are really smart and ask some really good questions.  It's really neat to walk into a classroom and have students remember me from last year or the year before.  I getting the biggest high and warm fuzzy when I'm walking from classroom to classroom and see kids from the classes I've visited earlier in the day, and they smile and wave at me.  It affirms my faith in myself to work on my dream of being an author.  If I could be an author full-time, I would be.  Alas, I still need my day job, but if I could, I'd write and visit schools, libraries, and daycares ALL the time.  I feel so fulfilled by getting to live my dream even though it may only be on a part-time basis...for now.

I hope to be a part of Career Day again next year, but I'm not certain I'll get to participate.  It will depend on where I'm working this time next year.  My office is closing in October when the lease is up, and for now the bosses haven't decided where they'll be moving the office.  Wherever it is, though, I won't be joining them.  Therefore, I'm really glad I was able to attend this year.  Another reason I'm glad I could go to Career Day is because one of the teachers is a friend of mine, and after 20 years of being in the same classroom, she'll be moving to another campus within the district as the district is moving the Kindergarten classes off the elementary campuses to the Pre-K/Kindergarten campuses to focus on what the little ones really need.  I just recently learned this and was really thankful I had the pleasure of being in her classroom this year to read to her students. 

As I grow as an author, I continue to strive to make my dream come true.  One of the things I would love to increase doing is visiting schools in the Houston area or in the East Texas area.  If anyone would like for me to come visit their classroom next year, let's try to make it work out!