Hannah Rae's Blog, page 28

#Instafriends

Now that I've been making an effort to actively grow my Instagram followers, I've had a lot of correspondence with men in India. For some reason, men in India feel the need to send a message that reads something like this: "Hi. My name is [insert name here] and I work for the CIA. I'm from Salt Lake City, but right now I'm stationed in India. My job is top secret, but I think you'll eventually learn what I do. Please tell me: Are you married?"

Needless to say, when I see that I have a message from someone I don't know, I am often times wary, but there are three instances that have proven to be quite rewarding.

The first involves Shane, who sent me a turtle emoji in response to a reel I'd posted about Trampled By Turtles. "Love that band!" I sent back, to which he replied, "Same. I saw them last night!" (He actually got to see Trampled with a guest opener: Taylor Meier from Caamp .)

From there, Shane (@thatguywandering) and I communicated about music. He lives in Oklahoma and told me about a connection he has to a venue in Tulsa. Because of this connection, he's gotten to see a lot of amazing musicians and occasionally meet them. I asked him to name the nicest artist he's ever met and his answer was Garth Brooks. Hear that, Erin? (My dear friend Erin is a sucker for Garth Brooks; if she's reading this right now, she's waaaaaay jealous.)

What I learned from my exchange with Shane is that not all men on Instagram are creepy. Some of them just have really good taste in music and want to talk about bands they've seen in concert. And I love that!

My second great interaction occurred with Vicky (@thestudypsycho). I stumbled upon her page and noticed that in her bio, she wrote "‍❤️‍In a RELATIONSHIP = DM me I’m not interested go away." Naturally, I wrote to her because I wanted to let her know how much I appreciated this comment and that it had made me laugh. "Whyyyyyy are there so many men in India and Turkey looking for relationships?!" I wondered.

She wrote back and said, "I know they’re just ridiculous !! Then they come out with ‘stop playing hard to get’ im like YOU STOP PLAYING HARD TO GET RID OF!!!!" ...which of course made me laugh harder. I liked that exchange a lot!

My third exchange with a stranger involved this picture or one very similar:

My marketing manager Mary had posted it in her story, along with the first four words she saw. I then did the same, including the first four words I noticed: MAN, MIRACLE, STRENGTH, and RELATIONSHIP. I also included that it would be a miracle if I found a man and ended up in a relationship since that so rarely happens for me.

Abby (@abby_authentically) then sent me a private message to let me know which four words popped out to her, and after that we had a fun back-and-forth regarding her hope that I'd find a man in 2023 and it would happen early on in the year. Ha! Another fun exchange!

That's all for tonight. I'm off to write my book and make potato soup.

Drinks with Alex

I had drinks with Alex today. (Alex the journalist, not Alex the coffee shop owner.) We met at Garryowen and he asked me a bunch of questions about writing. It was so fun! And legitimately? He's one of the nicest guys ever. Like, Alex is good to his core; you know he's only out to show the best sides of people. If I was only allowed two words to describe him, I would choose "good human," but he's also wicked smart and very funny and insanely kind and an animal lover.

Anyway.

I was answering Alex's questions about writing (because he writes nonfiction and I obviously write fiction), and so while we have much in common, there are clearly things we don't have in common.

One of the topics that was addressed was my characters. He was like, "You obviously know them very well. They live in your head." And so I proceeded to tell him all about how many of my characters are essentially my best friends. To non-writers, that probably sounds like a weird thing to say, but I know these characters so incredibly well. And I love them.

My marketing manager Mary recently asked me if Lucy Campbell (Sebastian's girlfriend) is essentially me. The short answer? No. I mean, Lucy and I have a lot in common -- don't get me wrong -- but she is not the character to whom I relate the most. And this sort of surprised Mary. She just thought maybe I had set it up that I could essentially date Bas via a novel. But the thing is... Bas loves Lucy and Lucy loves Bas and the two of them are meant to be together. And I love them together. It's what needs to be.

Now... that doesn't mean I don't fantasize about which one of my characters I would most like to date. I absolutely do! Take, for example, this text exchange with Mary that occurred earlier this evening:

For the benefit of my students, I would like to first draw attention to the fact that my friends and I also communicate in complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. I know that many of you are fifteen years old and already know everything, but this is how adults communicate. See? I've taught you something new. And... you're welcome.

Secondly, how great is it that I have so many desirable male characters? I mean, I think there are some desirable female characters as well... but I'll admit that my demographic target is not male. Therefore...

Sebastian.

Bert.

Finn.

Juli.

Jonny.

Petey.

Chet.

Alright. I need to get back to writing. Finn's being totally adorable right now and I've just got to finish that scene!

I went on a Santa Pub Crawl

I like pub crawls just fine, but not when everyone is invited. Like, I did a pub crawl for my birthday last year and just invited my friends and that was really a lot of fun because the bars weren't busy and we were able to get food and drinks whenever we needed to.

Last night I participated in Gettysburg's annual Santa Pub Crawl and it was fun, but very crowded. This is what transpired:

First we went to The Reliance Mine. It was very, very crowded but I saw some good outfits. There were women dressed as reindeer and men dressed as Santa and lots of people wearing ugly Christmas sweaters.

From there we went to O'Rorke's, but the line was out the door. So instead we walked over to Fourscore (#trivia) and had a drink there. I passed out some business cards, which was fun, and met the grandparents of a former student. I think the grandmother is going to check out my book, and she promised to tell her granddaughter about The Way Back. Maddy's grandpa isn't a reader and says he probably won't read it, but I assured him it was written for non-readers and busy people alike!

After that we tried to go back to O'Rorke's because some of us were hungry. However, our other friends had by that point left O'Rorke's and walked all the way to the center of town... so that's where we went.

Blue and Gray was impossibly crowded, so I suggested we walk down to Garryowen, which is my favorite spot in Gettysburg for foods and alcohol and music and other things. I just like it there. I ordered mozzarella sticks and ate all six of them, not sharing a single one. (I did offer one to Alex, but she said she'd only take one if I wasn't going to eat it... and I was definitely going to eat it.)

After that, I walked home and drank chocolate-mint tea while I wrote my book. I had stopped at a very exciting point and desperately wanted to get back to it, so I bailed on the pub crawl (I almost didn't go at all!) and was home by 8:30. Then I stayed up 'til 1:00AM writing. Ha! I probably sound like a lame-o and I love it!

Here's a picture from the night, just to prove I wasn't lame for at least a two-hour stint:

Trivia Recap: 12/8

The Players: Mary (English teacher), Brock (marketing/graphic design/computer/etc. guru), Darren (math professor), Hannah (English teacher), Ben (social studies teacher), Alex (coffee shop owner), and Dave randomly showed up as well... (I have absolutely no idea what he does, but every now and again he'll travel someplace like China)

Hint of the Day: Raisins

Opening Category: Bill Murray Films

Round One:

We got off to a strong start, acing Bill Murray Films, Kids' Books (thanks, Mom! I know my Eric Carle because of you!), Holiday Films ("Eight Crazy Nights"... I don't even know what that is, but my team did), and Today In History (Darren always looks this up before trivia and today it paid off: John Lennon, John Glenn, and the man who played Big Bird all died on December 8th -- along with Darren's grandfather, who actually died the same exact day as John Lennon). We missed the stupid One for Luxury Car Fans. In my opinion, it was a lame category with an even lamer answer. Whatever. Nobody asked me.

Round Two:

We got TV Show Narration, which was kind of fun because it was an audio with people talking about the shows. Different than usual... and we still got all the points. Chemical Compounds was fine, but we missed the bonus points for the following category: NFL Quarterbacks. I hate the sports questions. There are always so many and they are always so uninteresting. Sweet Treats was good; the answer was "Rum Raisin," which tied in the hint of the day. And then Ben knew Asian Geography (the answer was "Yemen") and Darren got the bonus ("Friends").

Halftime Sheet:

We aced this. The top half was matching bands to their album covers. The bottom was much harder, but Ben knows many, many things and so we scored a 20/20.

Round Three:

I thought Don a Mask sounded like a very fun category and I wanted to choose it as our bonus, but no one agreed. So we didn't choose it as our bonus category and we got all of the answers right. Like, ALL OF THEM. Even this crazy-difficult one about some show that starred a wrestler or something. I'd never even heard of it, but we got the answer right because of -- wait for it -- Ben. "I feel like such a dork right now," he said after the fact. But I'll tell you what: he is the smartest, funniest dork I know! I commended his humor tonight and he didn't know what to do with that. I mean, if you read Monday's blog you know how he feels about heartworms. He's just not your typical human. He's wonderful, and remarkably smart, and brilliant enough to someday make it to Jeopardy... but he doesn't always know what to do with a compliment. It's part of his appeal. The World History question is better suited for a lengthy description in person... I'm not writing all that for the blog. We got MLB Hodge Podge (thank you, Darren), but missed Last Word/First Word, which was our bonus category. We'd been in first, but this changed things. And then Late-Night Hosts was a shoe-in because Darren knew everything there was to know about late-night talk show hosts.

Round Four:

US Cities in History was hard, but we got one of the answers. Newsworthy Science was easy; even I knew that! I also knew Three Words/One Word because I used to work at a veterinarian's office, and Ben and Darren confirmed my answer because they knew a movie that was titled (I believe) "Quick." I don't watch many movies, so of course I'd never heard of this. But I know if you cut a nail too short, you're cutting the quick, and that makes for a bloody mess. We missed Authors and Their Works. We all knew the answer, but we didn't go with "Agatha Christie" because someone who shall not be named thought Agatha Christie lived earlier than she did. Bummer. And then we got Shoe Brands, but not the bonus.

Final Category:

Going into this round, we were tied for second. I can't tell you the question because I'm tired and it was a little confusing, but it had something to do with Oscar-winning movies and musicals by the same name and there were also dates involved. The answer was not what we wrote down... which caused us to lose. Oh well. The plus side is I handed out five business cards tonight and hopefully gained some new readers. That's what truly matters.

Blogging About My Book-Blogger Friends

For those unfamiliar with Colleen Hoover, the lady is HUGE right now. Her books are everywhere and her success is massive. Want to know how she got noticed, though? She had bloggers read and review her book. She sent out a whole bunch of free copies and believed that folks would like it enough to provide a solid recommendation. So that's what I've decided to do.

So far, I've sent books to about twenty-five bloggers. These folks create BookToks and Bookstagrams and are essentially making literary waves on social media. It's actually very cool. You should follow them so you can see what they say about my novels once they review them.

That's right: I did say novels. I've been promoting both The Way Back (because it's new) and Just Whistle (because I'm releasing its sequel beginning in January). Exciting stuff, right? I know!

So far my books have traveled to...

Georgia (@bookstilbedtime)

Washington (@readwhenthebabyreads & @booked.with.chelsea)

Pittsburgh, PA (@taylors_littlelibrary)

California (@the.reading.lady)

Philippines (@sjm.kindlegram)

Canada (@flowersfavouritefiction)

I've also found someone in Australia who wants to read Just Whistle, so I'm really going to be splurging on some postage for that one... but if it increases book sales and allows the world to meet my characters, then I really think it's worth it. I've got so many stories in my head, you know? All I really want to do is share them with people!

So that's what's been going on with me in the book promotion world. With any luck, all the marketing and weekly visits to the post office will pay off!

Merry Christmas to Me!

Even though I like my eye doctor very much, the eye doctor is my least favorite doctor to visit. I don't enjoy having air puffed into my eyes... or being nearly blind while I walk around the office without my contacts. In addition to all this, reading the bottom line of the eye chart gives me anxiety: I worry I'm going to get a letter wrong!

Don't get me started on pupil dilation... but even more than that, why does my insurance only cover an exam every other year? That, in my opinion, is complete and utter bullshit. But who am I, right? Just a lady with eyes. So what do I possibly know about how they function?

Despite all these negatives, there is one truly positive thing that occurs each year when I go to the eye doctor, and that is the $150 rebate I get when I purchase a year's worth of contacts.

The rebate arrives on one of those gift cards that can be used anywhere. I don't like having to keep track of how much I've spent, since the balance will eventually run out, so I tend to spend my money all in one place: the wine store!

I went to the wine store today and boy did I have fun! Check out my haul:

That Chalkboard Cabernet Sauvignon? It's a Chairman's Choice selling for $8.99, but it tastes like it costs about $15.99. For my Gettysburg shoppers: bottom shelf on the wall.

Layer Cake Creamy Chardonnay was on the clearance rack and yours truly got the last two bottles. (Don't worry, Mom: one's already in the fridge and I'll be bringing it on Friday!)

Mad Fish Shiraz is one I've never tried before, but I wanted the label for my collection and I like the words "Mad" and "Fish." Everything about this label works for me.

I tend to really enjoy Freakshow wines and had never seen the Chardonnay before. Therefore, I had to get it. Here's hoping it's tasty! At the very least, it has a screw top... and I love me a bottle of wine that doesn't require a corkscrew.

School Daze

These weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are busy, busy, busy. My sophomores are reading Macbeth (so many props!), my freshmen are writing about Romeo and Juliet (not especially fun, but one of those necessary ELA assignments), and a million and one other things are happening in the building: Keystone retakes, faculty meetings, Secret Santa mysteries, etc.

Here are some high points from the past week or so:

Last Friday, the day of my book signing, there was a mouse in my classroom! My homeroom was saying the Pledge when Coffee Acquirer emitted a slight squeal and managed to move her entire desk. To her credit, she only put one foot up on the seat, but it was obvious that she was very startled.

To the class's credit, everyone finished the Pledge before seeing to our unexpected visitor.

He (or she, perhaps) had found a hiding spot under my podium... but when s/he realized we were aware of its existence, the little mouse scampered over to the bookshelf behind my desk. Here, s/he burrowed behind a lint roller and some books. The lint roller was a real find as I didn't know it was there; it's already come in handy a few times since its discovery!

My very brave student, whom we shall call Stuart Big for the purpose of this blog, picked up the mouse by the tail and took him/her outside, where s/he was released into the wild. Here's a picture that Stuart Big took before the mouse's departure:

Isn't it precious!

Another precious story involves my second-period boys. Yesterday, Dental Disaster arrived late to class because he'd been to the dentist. "Did you have any cavities?" I wondered.

"Yes," he told me. "I was having them filled. That's why I wasn't here."

I then proceeded to lecture him on dental hygiene. "I brush several times a day," I told my students. "And flossing is not overrated; you should be doing that daily."

"I brush twice each day," Mr. Joyful informed me.

"When I say 'several times a day,'" I clarified, "I mean, like, five."

The boys then asked if I keep a toothbrush in my desk, which of course I do! I proceeded to show it, my toothbrush, and my floss to them.

"When I go to the dentist and they ask when was the last time I flossed," Mr. Joyful admitted, "I answer, 'Oh, probably the last time I was here and you flossed for me.'"

This seemed like a terrible thing. I mean, I am an avid flosser... which is why I then went to my desk and got a bag of those floss-pick thingies and distributed them to each boy in the row. The next thing I knew, Dental Disaster, Mr. Joyful, B-ball Bam-Bam, Mr. Sneak-a-Seat, and Sushi for Breakfast were all flossing! In English class! Isn't that funny?

And last but certainly not least...

Last week, upon entering my classroom at the start of second period, I realized that Sushi for Breakfast (who earned that nickname as a result of this story) was sharing sushi with Mr. Joyful. Period two runs from 8:51 to 9:38, I believe... so it was a little bit early for sushi.

Anyway, that story made me laugh too.

And it also made me crave sushi, so that may be a dinner option later this week.

First Friday's Book Signing

This past Friday, December 2, I spent several hours at my favorite coffee shop because Alex and Chad (those are my favorite baristas) hosted a book signing for me! It was super fun and these are the highlights:

Even before any of my anticipated friends arrived, Brody (Annie's son) and Elliott (Darren's son) swung by to say hi! I wasn't expecting them, but I loved that they stopped in to wish me luck! It was really sweet.

My marketing manager Mary was there even though she barely had a voice. The girl is a trooper! She sold some books, made some change, and distributed bookmarks like it was her job. (I mean, it kind of was her job... she just didn't get paid for it.)

Nearly my entire book club made an appearance! First Annie arrived. She had a limited window because she needed to get Brody to a lacrosse game, but she still made it a point to be there. Next, Siri showed up. I almost didn't recognize her! It's been ages since the two of us were in the same place at the same time, and this is absolutely ridiculous because we live in the same neighborhood.

True story: I recently sent Siri a card with a picture of Angela Lansbury on the front. Inside, it said something like, "I haven't heard from you in a while and just wanted to make sure you hadn't been murdered." Because, you know, Jessica Fletcher was always connecting with old friends in Murder, She Wrote and finding out that they were at dire risk of being murdered.

Erin and Brecia arrived next, I believe. Erin brought Lila and Mason with her (those are two of her children; Grace was at a basketball game) and they had some hot chocolate. Eighty-Two had this cool hot cocoa bar that was sort of like Sweet Frog, but for cocoa. Essentially, customers could pay $5 for a cup of cocoa and top it with anything on the table: whipped cream, marshmallows, candy canes, crunched up toffee pieces, crunched up cookies, crunched up other things... There were all sorts of options!

Kendall came with her boyfriend Quinn. (Quinn is a twin, but his twin wasn't with him.) I was very excited to introduce my mom to Kendall because that girl knows how to deliver a story! She tells some real zingers at book club and just knows exactly how to speak a line in order to bring everyone to tears. Tears of laughter, I should probably say: the girl is hilarious!

Victoria was there as well. More on this later.

And then there's my friend Biz, whom you ought to remember from my Souper Soup Search not too long ago. Biz arrived in a cloud of energy, as only Biz can do, and when she came up to me, pretty much the first words out of her mouth were, "Hannah! When I got here, I saw this very attractive man behind the bar, and then I realized that man was my husband! I was like, 'I don't need to admire him! I already have him!'" So that made me laugh.

About the bar... I had some bartenders helping me out on Friday night. Major props go to Kristin, who is also a member of my book club. She got there first and served up Mud Buzzes to anyone and everyone! Kristin had had a rough week, too, because some of her students were throwing a bag of marinara and meat around the hallway and it exploded. (She teaches middle school. Need I say more?) So the fact that Kristin showed up, exhausted and utterly in need of Christmas break, was a truly magnificent friend moment. She brought her daughter Isabel as well, which was nice because I hadn't seen Isabel for quite some time. Her hair looks as good as ever!

My other bartenders were Phil (obviously, seeing as I've already shared the first words out of Biz's mouth when she saw me) and Brock (that's Phil's best friend). Both Phil and Brock play trivia with me on Thursday nights, so you'd better believe they're intelligent men. And cute! They charmed the crowds and served the Mud Buzz, adding a shot of vanilla vodka to those who wanted to experience a proper Mud Buzzed (wink, wink).

The rest of my trivia team was there too! Darren arrived after his son had left, and Ben came shortly thereafter. Ben factors into the "more on this later" story that I want to share about Victoria, so just be patient. I'm trying to go in chronological order while still clumping some things together to make sure everything is easy to follow.

Some of my students showed up! The first to arrive was The Novelist and I was so happy to see her! And I met her mom for the first time! (She was lovely.) I told The Novelist that someday I will be attending her book signing, because seriously? What a good writer! I can't wait to see what she creates and where she goes in life; I know she's going someplace great.

Agent S was there with her mom too! When she got there she said that she said to her mother, "We need to go and support her, Mom. It's her book signing." So they came in and tried the Mud Buzz and talked to some other students and teachers for a while. It meant a lot that they were there.

My country boys showed up! Mr. Down Under and his buddy The Tree-Stand Sitter were a total surprise! Not only did they hang out for a while, but they each bought a copy of my book! And then The Tree-Stand Sitter suggested he and Mr. Down Under read a chapter each day so we can have book clubs in the morning before class. (Neither one of those boys is a reader, so this was an insanely huge compliment to me.) The Tree-Stand Sitter also made the comment that he thinks it might be nice to sit in his tree stand and read my book while hunting. That is, in fact, how he got his name for this blog.

The Octopus Gifter was there! Last year, I had the Octopus Gifter as a freshman and she gave me a squishy octopus that can be turned inside out. On one side, the octopus is light pink and happy; on the other side, it's dark pink and mad. I often have to hide the octopus from period six because they are easily distractable, but I very much enjoy that stuffed animal!

The Octopus Gifter arrived with her mother Sally, who works at my school. Sally helped a lot with the creation of my Just Whistle book boxes as she made all of the bracelets. Some other coworkers who showed up were Kaitlin, who brought her friend Bitsy (I'd never met a Bitsy before!) and Tiff, who brought two of her three children. It worked out very well that my mother showed up when she did. Here's the story of why I say this:

When The Novelist first arrived, my mom was not there yet, but I knew my mom would want to see The Novelist because she had her as a wee child at storytime. So I called my mom and was all like, "Mom! The Novelist is here! Where are you?" And my mom told me she was putting on her shoes.

Shortly thereafter, my mom showed up and I was able to introduce her to ALL OF MY STUDENTS because ALL OF MY STUDENTS arrived at the same time! And it was perfect because Mr. Down Under and The Tree-Stand Sitter might help my mom do some mulching in the spring.

Nicole was there too! With her son (my student) the Cross-Country Whiz! And Nicole brought Sarah (soon to be my coworker!) and Maura (whom I hadn't seen for years!).

Of course Kathy came! She's been in my world since nursery school, after all. She was going to bring her entire family, but Michael Hans was ill so Calan was the only one to accompany her. Calan was absolutely adorable though and told me that I'm doing a really nice job with my writing and my art. He thought I seemed pretty "professional."

Calan also had wonderful talks with my mom while they waited in line for hot cocoa. He asked her about her cats, Poppy and Bert, and said that the two weeks those kittens stayed at his house were two of the best weeks of his life. (This is a story for another blog; this particular post is already quite long enough.) He also asked my mom if she ever misses her house. (You see, Calan and Kathy and Michael Hans and Regular Michael actually live in my old house. Isn't that funny?)

Other people in attendance were my Other Mother Amy, her husband Steve, niece Amy Ann, and granddaughter Zizi. Sarah was there too; she introduced me to those obscure British writers the day Mary and I took Augusta to Eighty-Two. Oh! And Emily!

Emily graduated a couple of years ago and I LOVE HER, but haven't seen her for a while. She just randomly showed up and it was such a happy reunion! That girl is just such a kind and vibrant soul.

Okay, so... after the event, Mary and Brock and Phil and Ben and Victoria and I went to Tommy's for some pizza and then took it to Old Reliance Mine. While at the Mine, I learned that Ben (like Victoria) is big into parasites. Victoria was telling us this crazy story about veterinary licenses, that somehow turned into a story about heartworms, and then Ben had a lot of questions about heartworms, and when Victoria explained how heartworms work -- how they get in the blood -- Ben said very, very seriously, "See? I just love that! That's my kind of parasite. It gets in the blood."

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Ben is an interesting dude.

Those are my observations regarding Friday night. All in all, it was amazingly fun and I hope to do it again someday. Thanks to all who came out to show support, and special thanks to Alex, Chad, Kristin, Brock, and Phil for serving up delicious coffee and providing an awesome venue. Love you, friends! ❤️

A Migraine & A Memory

I legitimately spent almost the entire day with my eyes shut, fighting off a migraine. I'd been hoping to do some writing... but I ended up "writing" in my head rather than on my laptop.

The scene that I'm working on right now involves Bert placing a phone call to his friend Lucy's mother. He's just eaten a cupcake that reminds him of holidays spent with the Campbell family and wants to let Mrs. Campbell know that he's thinking of her. In writing this scene in my head while lying on the couch today, I remembered a time when my brother and his friends were living together in either Pittsburgh or Carlisle. The location isn't really all that important; it's the dialogue that makes the story memorable.

I was still living at home at the time. The phone rang one evening while my mom was working on dinner. I was likely talking her ear off about something that had happened earlier that day -- that was our usual routine. Anyway, I answered the phone and it was Pip's roommate Charles.

"Hi. This is Charles," he said. "We just bought a ham. Can we freeze that?"

It is still to this day one of my favorite phone calls to have ever received. ❤️

Alright. Assuming I've kicked this migraine to the curb and can think straight tomorrow, there should be a recounting of Friday night's book signing. I'm just not up to it at the moment.

Nate is beyond great.

I will eventually blog about the success of last night's book signing, but I'm still processing the evening and the fun. Therefore, today's blog is about yesterday's birthday boy... who also happens to be my favorite student of all time.

I met Nate when he was in seventh grade. He was an honorary member of my homeroom. His best friend Scotty (one of my other favorite students of all time) was actually in my homeroom, which meant Nate was frequently in my homeroom as well.

In seventh grade, the boys are squirrelly... and Nate was no exception! But he was also sensitive, intuitive, and wise beyond his years. A Renaissance Man and an old soul: that's what Nate is. Here are three of my favorite young-Nate stories:

1) While in the seventh grade, Nate wanted me to have a boyfriend. I was going through sort of a rough time in my life and wasn't exactly in the market for a boyfriend... but Nate seemed to feel that I very much deserved one. I can remember this one time my friend Biz and I went to a middle school wrestling match and Nate came up to say hi after he wrestled. (We had made a bet regarding that night's score. I ended up losing and the consequence was that I had to get rid of the mug that held pencils on my desk... because that mug sported the name of the school where I taught previously.)

He and Scotty sat with us in the stands for a while, and when they eventually got up to leave, Nate looked at me very seriously and said, "Thanks for coming, Ms. Meeson. Have a good night and get yourself a boyfriend."

"From the mouths of babes," I remember Biz musing.

The next day, I entered my classroom to find a new mug on my desk (a Best Wrestling Coach mug for the school where I currently teach) and a touching note from Nate and some other students. It still hangs on my bulletin board all these years later.

2) When Nate was in high school (I want to say it was his junior year), I was querying agents for Just Whistle. One agent requested a full manuscript and as I'd never experienced that before, I was really hopeful. Obviously, it didn't work out, and when I got the rejection, I passed Nate in the hallway that day and told him the disappointing news. He expressed his condolences and went about his day, but later that night, I received a message from him: "I was thinking... wasn't it J.K. Rowling who got rejected a million times before she got published? You're just the next J.K. Rowling, Ms. Meeson!"

How he knew that I was upset about the rejection at that very moment, I will never know. He's just an insanely intuitive person.

3) At one point in his high school career, Nate and I did an art swap. I obviously enjoy cutting and tearing paper; Nate's good at painting. We've always had a fruit connection (I'm not really sure why; I'll have to ask him if he remembers the story behind that one) and so we did a fruit art swap. I made him a picture of himself in a wrestling singlet, clobbering a giant strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry, I believe. Nate painted a pomegranate for me. It has since been framed and now hangs in my living room.

Nate is still every bit as intuitive as he's always been. I mean, I wrote a blog back in August (on the 30th, I believe it was) entitled "Circle of Friends." I'd had a really shitty past twenty-four hours and wasn't feeling especially upbeat. My other other mother Theresa, who is insanely intuitive as well, called at the same time there was a knock at my front door. I remember ignoring the call in order to answer the door, half-expecting Theresa to be the one standing there on the porch. But it was Nate! He was just riding around town on his new motorcycle and decided to swing by. We watched some Jeopardy and talked about school and then he was on his way... and even though I never once mentioned that my day hadn't been great, he seemed to have sensed it and shown up.

Nate is now my coworker and dear friend and I am so fortunate that he's remained such a constant in my life. This year, as per tradition, I gifted him with an assortment of fruit for his birthday. One of my homeroom students ran it upstairs to him and I received this text later that morning:

Just look at that respectable punctuation and capitalization! It's icing on the cake; he is such a cool person.

And speaking of cake... Nate, if you're reading this, I hope you enjoyed a cheesecake on your birthday. You deserve it!