I have wanted to write a book for children since I was in University, studying to be a teacher. In preparation for teaching, we were required to spend a lot of time at the library, reading various authors and finding ways to use the stories to teach lessons. Reading was one of my favorite pastimes as a child, making this exercise one of the best parts of my week. Getting to look at picture books all over again as a University student was an absolute bonus!
Grandma and the Internet – The Smart TV is my first children’s book. I was excited to start after taking an online course all spring and learning the essential aspects of writing a picture book. So many ideas were going through my head that I couldn’t decide which one to use for the plot. I needed inspiration!
My husband and I happened to be planning a trip to Washington to visit my parents and help them with tasks around the house, like painting, cleaning, getting things out of the attic, and mowing the lawn. When I talked on the phone to my mom, though, she announced, somewhat frantically, that all they really needed us to do was get their new Smart TV working! They had been trying for two weeks already and had been without a TV for that whole time. For two retired seniors, this was a difficult situation. With a few chuckles and knowing looks, Rocky and I assured my mom that it wouldn’t be a problem, and we would get the TV up and running before proceeding with the chores.
Upon arriving at the house with our little Pomeranian, Stanley, after a six-hour drive, we immediately felt the frustration in the air. The empty TV box sat on the floor, bubble wrap strewn around it, cords were haphazardly lying on the floor, and my parents looked frazzled. Rocky and I set to work putting the TV rack on the wall and hefting the heavy TV up into place. As he plugged cords into various slots, I read the directions, borrowing my dad’s reading glasses as I squinted at the tiny print.
To our surprise and exasperation, I ended up on the phone with the TV company for almost two hours, and Rocky finally had to give up his task of getting the TV to work at that moment. The rest of the long weekend was spent getting a new internet connection, visiting the store for a new router, joining a new phone plan, and waiting on hold through a series of voicemails. On the fourth day, a young man from the phone company hooked up the new router, and we eventually got the Smart TV working! We didn’t have time to watch it immediately because we had started other projects, so the TV stayed off for the next few hours.
I knew I had a story when my frustrated mom (Grandma) took the bubble wrap and started to jump on it in frustration. With her diminutive height of five feet, the adorable moment set the idea for the illustrations into my mind, and I started to write the story as soon as I got home to Canada.
The rest is history, and when the book is out, it will be a surprise present for her 80th birthday! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this whimsical but very true story of a weekend in the life of a senior in these days of new technology and change.
