Michelle Nelson-Schmidt's Blog, page 70

The Whatif Monster Military Challenge

When people tell me thank you because I wrote a book that has in some way helped, impacted, inspired, or in any way positively affected them or their child, I automatically whisper a praise of gratitude to the heavens that I was lucky enough to be given the words, smart enough to write them down and brave enough to show them to people.

When Kayla Bradley wrote me a letter and told how much my book impacted her beautiful family and then told me me her big, giant dream? I was touched beyond words, and flattered beyond measure.

Ever since she said that dream out loud it has been growing and growing. Hundreds of Usborne Books and More sales consultants wanted to help. I wanted to help. We ALL wanted to help Kayla to accomplish her dream.

Please check out Kayla’s website to learn more about this completely INSPIRING woman and join us in The Whatif Monster Military Challenge if it so moves you. We’d love to have you along for what is turning into an incredible ride!

PLEASE share this link so that we can all help Kayla achieve her BIG, GIANT DREAM!

http://whatifmilitarychallenge.com/

The Voices in My Head

I hear voices. Really I do. At first, I hear them as distant muffles. After a while, if I quiet my mind and pay attention, I can tell they are talking to me. If I am very, very quiet and REALLY pay attention, sometimes I can hear what they are trying to say to me. But not always – they might wait a long, long time before getting close enough for me to hear. Sometimes, I get the exact words. Or, I just get a feeling and understand who they are and what they’re like. Maybe, it’s a message they want me to pass along. These characters show up in doodles, drawings and stories. Sometimes, they end up in my books.

For instance, Bob from my picture book Bob is a Unicorn, was just a voice at first. A pleading, insistent voice begging me to tell his story. I didn’t even know who Bob actually was or what he looked like until I had worked out the whole concept of the book completely in my head.

I might see them in my head before I know their story or even their message. Their story might be years away. It can be enough that I know who they are and I understood their message for me. I might years before they allow me to understand their full message. Once I know what they look like though? I create them – usually I am compelled to create them. I make them into figurines. I didn’t even realize I had this ability until I was in my late 20′s – to see something in my head and let me fingers create it in clay. There are times I don’t even look at the clay while I am forming whomever it is I need to create. It is like my fingers just KNOW what to do. I love when that happens.

Yesterday some new characters showed up and NEEDED to be created. When this happens? I have no choice. My day has been decided. That’s just the way it is. Here are who needed to come into this world yesterday:

My Seal of Approval. She showed up one day and wanted to be a message, I think. She just goes around being quite happy with people in general, and seems only to notice the things we do right and the awesomeness we add to a day. She is quite a friendly gal to have around. I don’t think she has a book in her. Ever since creating her, she seems very content to just hang out with the others and find the positives in life.

Next are my Blue Footed Boobies. I saw my first Booby about a year ago when my friend Maggie texted me a photo of one of them. I could hardly contain my delight in knowing such creatures actually existed. And that they’re named BOOBIES?!?! Oh my goodness, my joy was limitless! I don’t for a minute thing this dancing duo is finished telling me their story. They make me smile. I don’t know their names yet, but I believe one is a boy and one is a girl. I can’t be certain yet, but eventually they will tell me more. Yesterday on Facebook they brought a smile to many, many people’s faces. And we all got to say BOOBIES and giggle like the 12 year old child that is inside all of us.

And here we have my Mustachioed Otter. He showed up the other day to tell everyone how awesome they are. He thinks he is quite awesome too. Today during the photoshoot, I realized he has quite an ego. HUGE, actually. Last night I was starting to hear what his name is. Today I am certain. This is Maurice the Mustachioed Otter. He does happen to think you are very awesome. But don’t forget to tell him how awesome HE is too. Really. Don’t forget. I have a feeling it would be bad if you don’t return his compliment.

 

There are three examples of exactly what goes on in my head. It’s a little crazy in there, but I have learned that if I trust these voices, they tell me truths I need and want to share. And when I am brave enough to share them without worry? I find they resonate with so many of us. It’s a scary thing to share what REALLY goes on in our heads. We may find out that people think we’re odd or strange or crazy. What I have found though, overwhelmingly, is that we’re ALL odd and strange and crazy and so when someone shows us their crazy? We breathe a giant sigh of relief and think, “Thank GOODNESS, me too! I can tell them about MY crazy, too!” And we usually find a new friend.

Being ourselves, being vulnerable, letting others see who we truly are is how we connect. How we realize we are not alone. Our uniqueness is what makes us who we are, and by sharing that? It brings us together. It’s okay to be different, okay to think differently. It’s scary to be different, I know. But when we share it, not only do we find the people who seem to be almost magically just like us, we also find the people that are different from us. Maybe as different as the sun is from the moon, but who appreciate us. I kinda think that’s what the whole point of us being here happens to be. Loving the ones like us and loving the ones nothing like us – finding the common ground.

(And of course there are those that will never, ever get us. And that’s okay too. We don’t have to all understand each other, but if we could just respect each other – though that is another post for another day.)

I better go now. There is someone telling me a story and I need to write it down. I have no idea who it is either. Wouldn’t it be awesome if it was one of the characters above? Yeah. It would be. But it is never, EVER that easy. I wish. The voices make me work so hard to figure out who they are.

Otterly Awesome

Will it all be worth it?

Ten years ago, if you had a window into my life, you would have seen me in a cubicle for 8 hours a day doing graphic design work, doing freelance graphic design projects some evenings for extra money, while also painting pet portraits most evenings for even more extra money. In between all of those things, I researched and studied the children’s book publishing industry. I began writing down ideas for my books.  All this while taking care of two young children. I slept little. Oh yeah, I was also in the middle of a nasty divorce. Good times.



I lived life at a constant speed of 100mph to fit it all in, get it all done. It was a life filled with pure adrenaline and desperation not just to pay bills, but to get to the life I wanted to be living – to authentically be ME. I had no time to think. I trusted in my vision and did everything in my power to move towards it – I never doubted what it was I wanted. I didn’t have the time to doubt.



Right now, as I type this, I’m sitting on my back deck, drinking coffee and thinking. Trying to organize all the thoughts in my head, figuring out what to do next, what to create next. Thinking and taking the time to process my thoughts is part of my job and I have the time to do it now. Let me say that again, I have time to think now. Wow.



There are moments I feel guilt that I’m not having to go a million miles per hour anymore. Sometimes I feel like I’m cheating when I can sleep, think, take time to enjoy and play in my life. But then I realize it’s because the hard work has paid off. The years of paying my dues, doing the things I didn’t want to, but had to, in order to pay my bills while still pursuing my dreams? THEY WORKED. 

My book sales now pay my bills, will send my oldest child college next month. They paid for me to go to a writer’s retreats last week to learn more about my craft. Most importantly, those sales allow me to help others – often. They allow me to volunteer to do projects for free because they touch my heart. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not swimming in money, but with saving and budgeting, and continually working and creating, I have an income that I created that I can count on. And on top of all that? There is more. Amazingly, there is MORE. Almost daily, I get emails, texts and messages telling me how something I created has helped them, even changed them or their children for the better. Stories that were born in years of desperation and a fair share of tears, have touched other people’s hearts. And that? Overwhelms me with such gratitude I can hardly contain it all.

I wish I could go back ten years and talk to my 31 year old self – the 31 year old who hardly slept, who often wondered if it would ever be her turn, wondered if she would ever be able to take a moment and breathe without wondering if that moment of doing nothing would mean she couldn’t pay the electric bill later…I wish I could whisper to her, “Don’t stop. The life you’re picturing, the exact one you want, is waiting there for you. It’s even better than you are imagining. Every sleepless night, every tear, every job, project and painting is so very worth it, it is making you who you are, who you will become. Keep going.” If you have a dream? Don’t stop, keeping going. Be willing to do whatever it takes. It will be WORTH IT. I promise.

The photo above was taken one morning at about 6:30am on Martha’s Vineyard where I was attending a writer’s retreat for the week. As I took that photo, all the thoughts in this post were swirling in my mind. I just kept saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” out loud. It was a moment I will carry with me forever.

Limited Edition Whatif Monsters!

Y’all, I am selling the last of my inventory of the Whatif Monsters that I manufactured myself 3 years ago. What an amazing last three years it has been since these little green dudes have come into my life! They have brought me so much luck and magic. Now that I have the time this summer, I want them to go to good homes. I swear I will miss each and every single one of these little guys, but it is time to let them go spread their magic to you! Click the link in the side bar or on the photo below to get yours! :)

June 25, 2014 Storytime LIVE Special Edition – 7:30pm eastern standard time

Y’all, it is summer. And there are no school visits going on and, well, I am a lil’ bit bored. So I thought to myself, “Self! I know! Let’s do a full school visit presentation on Storytime LIVE complete with question and answers at the end! That would be FUN!!” and I responded, “Self, you have some darn fine ideas! Let’s DO IT!”

So click below to join us tonight! Don’t forget to login to LiveStream if you want to be able to chat live with me at the end!

June 18, 2014 Storytime LIVE at 7:30pm eastern standard time

Click below to watch my live event! It’s FREE! You only have to sign in  if you want to chat with me live during the show!

The more things change…the more they keep changing.

A few weeks back I posted a fairly cryptic post on Facebook and said I would explain it all later. Well, it is later. And I HATE cryptic Facebook posts, don’t you? I mean, either explain it or keep that to yourself, right? I KNOW! So…here goes.

Many, MANY changes have taken place in my personal life lately and many, many changes are likely to happen in the future. The first and most important of which have to do with my children. My son, Noah, is going off to college in the fall – woohoo!! I am so excited for this time in his life. Since he was very young he has always been somewhat of an academic (read: nerd) and I have had a gut instinct that this kid would not only LOVE college, but flourish and thrive there. I will not be shocked if he never leaves the world of academia and education. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure I am not – call it mother’s intuition. So, one kid on his way into the world and this Mama is EXCITED for him. Plus he is only an hour away and this Mama LOVES that part. Thank goodness for the homebody in my son. :)

Onto Sophie. Sophie has had a very difficult year this year. I watched as I saw her ever glowing light of sunshine dim this past year and it broke my heart. There was a terrible tragedy of a suicide of one of her friends early last school year and it affected her tremendously. It was one terrible event that began what seemed a string of things that came one after another. Being 15 is a rough time for any young kid and Sophie had her share of extra things happen. Luckily, she and I are very open and we talked, got her into therapy and she fought hard to come out of it all. She struggled with some grades, made some more mistakes along the way, but ended her year on an extremely positive note. She had to crawl her way out of a very deep hole she was in – a hole she fell in and then made deeper on her own. But she did it – and I really, truly cannot be more proud of her. Sophie chose to begin living with me and her step-dad in April due to various reasons. To explain this situation very quickly – I left and subsequently divorced my children’s dad when they were 6 and 8 years old. Since that time we have shared custody of our kids. They stay a week with me and stay a week with their dad. We have done that for the past 10 years very, very consistently. So Sophie living with me full time is a very big deal. I have not had either of my kids full time in 10 years. As anyone can imagine, this has been hard for her father. Sophie and her dad are having a hard time, but I hope that in the next few months they will work through this. But it is hard on Sophie and I hate that for her.

Another thing going on is that my husband is in the Navy Reserve. He is training full time in Augusta right now for the entire month of June. After that training is done? He will be eligible for deployment. As in, leave the country. For anywhere from 6 months to a year. Likely destinations include the horn of Africa and Afghanistan. This can happen as early as January 2015. Um. Yeah. Kinda rethinking my whole “Honey! Join the Navy Reserves! Follow your passion! You want this! GO FOR IT!” speech many years back. Who in the HECK would have thought  he’d end up in the Middle East for pete’s sake!!?? But it IS his passion. And he LOVES it. So I will be proud of him, support him and then not breath for 6-12 months if he gets deployed there.

Which brings me to this point. For the past three years, my family has been the most amazing, supportive three people you could ever want. I have traveled every other week for three years visiting schools and empowering children to believe in their visions and their dreams. My husband and children have selflessly shared me with all the awesome kids in this awesome country. There were times I missed important events for my children and my husband – pretty big deal stuff at times. And not once, NOT ONE TIME, did they ever, ever make me feel bad. They always told me what I was doing was important and they believed in my mission and understood. I could not have a better support system. And man, oh man, do I adore my three people more than life itself.

But now? They need me. My daughter needs a full time mom. My husband needs someone here when he gets deployed as well as a full time wife in the months before he may get deployed. My son will be at college, but it will be nice knowing that I am an hour away if he does need me.

I had my entire fall booked solid. I had six weeks of visits all planned. I wrestled with the decision I knew I needed to make. I hate letting people down and I hate not honoring commitments even more. But my choice is clear. I need to be HOME this year. I simply cannot travel.

I contacted the six women that had booked me – many of which had already made plans and commitments with many, many schools and told them my situation. The outpouring of love and understanding brought me to tears email after email. I am not sure why I was surprised. They are all moms. They got it. But still, their responses were like hugs – email after email. And I so needed that.

I am still so sad about the children I will miss talking to – the ones that I know NEED to hear my message. I will do visits here in Georgia, but my heart will ache for the children I will never get to meet.

I know that things all happen for a reason though. There have been many things I have wanted to do with my career that I simply have not been able to focus on with all my travel. One I just recently started was Storytime LIVE. It is a 25 minute story time I do almost every Wednesday at 7:30pm. It is still in its infancy and I am still figuring it all out, but I see big things and big potential for that. I want to do my presentation on it from time to time so that I can help spread my message of following your dreams – so I am excited to see where that can go. I am also going to continue making books. Picture books for sure – they are my love, but I am beginning a chapter book this summer. And since that scares the ever loving you-know-what out of me? I know it is exactly the book I am supposed to write.

So there you have it. The only thing you can count on in life is change. And boy howdy did life throw a whole bunch of change at me all at once. But I will say this, I love change. I have always loved the not knowing of what a new day may bring – routine and monotony is not my thing. So while I am sad that a certain part of my life is temporarily stopping, I am so very eager to see what awaits this new chapter in my life. I feel good things about it – really, really good.

And to the amazing women (and not just the 6, but your entire Usborne Books and More Team that were all affected by this decision) THANK YOU. Thank you for your love, your understanding and support of another Mama needing to be there for her family. I have said this many, many times, but I still cannot say it enough: I adore my publisher and the team of sales consultants so very, very much. They are so much more than a company – they are a family. And when you took me in 3 years ago as one of your own? You changed my life and made it more MAGICAL than I could ever have imagined. I will repay that with as many books as I can write for you all. Thank you from the depths of my soul, thank you.

 

 

Storytime was SO MUCH FUN tonight!! Click below to watch ...

Storytime was SO MUCH FUN tonight!! Click below to watch if you missed it! And THANK YOU for tuning in if you did! You know I love you so much for that!

I was heartbroken to hear of May Angelou’s passing today. As a tribute, I read a poem she wrote for children that was made into a book called “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Find out more about the book and how you can buy it by clicking on the image of Maya below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also mentioned LeVar Burton’s amazing Kickstarter campaign to bring Reading Rainbow back!! He just started it and as I write this, he has surpassed his goal of raising one million dollars! How amazing is that??? Click below to still become a part of it!

Storytime LIVE: SUMMER EDITION! Tonite May 28 at 7:30pm Eastern Standard Time!!!

Y’all! Summer is here! Come join me tonite for my first summer edition of Storytime LIVE! I will be reading a Maya Angelou poem she wrote for children – you will NOT want to miss this! I have pictures too! Also I will be letting you know about the AMAZINGNESS that is Levar Burton – you know – the READING RAINBOW DUDE!! -  and what he is doing on KickStarter for children!!

So to sum up: SUMMER + MAYA + LEVAR = AWESOME STORYTIME LIVE TONITE!!

Click here to got to LIVESTREAM and watch at 7:30pm!!