I’ve always enjoyed the fact that my birthday is on or around a three-day-weekend. Actually most of the Martins (Mike – Martin Luther King, Matthew – Labor Day) have this theme of holiday birthdays. Zachary’s due date, originally, was 06-06-06 which would’ve been pretty nutty. Then we thought, well, maybe he’d make it to Cinco de Mayo. In the end, he carved his own holiday on April 28th. I’m fairly certain that Congress is looking into making it a National holiday as well.

We spent Memorial Day weekend with my parental units and brother Chris at their condo at Port Ludlow. Matthew is obsessed with Port Ludlow – he loves the place. It’s a beautiful woodsy setting above the bay. There’s always the opportunity for boat-watching and occasional wild life sightings as well. This weekend, however, the wildlife was found mostly inside. Matthew spent all of his energy human-barricading Zach from his toys, and Zach spent all of his energy screaming like a howler monkey due to the injustice of it all. I’m sure the neighbors thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

I like to refer to the Port Ludlow condos as “Dorms for Old People” or even “Summer Camp for the Elderly” (although year-round). There’s always a function going on – a rummage sale to attend, walks to be taken, water aerobics to do (floral swim caps optional), potlucks to enjoy, card games and dominoes to play, and naps…lots and lots of naps. And cliques – just like seventh grade! There are cliques. One couple might feel left out if not invited to the cool kids’ condo for a night of games and drinking. The parties can’t get too out-of-hand, however, as there are Quiet Hours (just like in the dorm). From 10pm until 8am, you need to keep it down so as to not disturb your neighbors. My parents are so good about the quiet hours that they don’t even run the dishwasher after 10. I’m surprised that there isn’t an RA to uphold these laws. Sometimes those Port Ludlow parties can get a little rowdy – there really should be someone around to maintain order! You can’t just expect the fogies to keep it under control.

In other huge, ginormous, momentous, incredibly big news: I HAVE AN AGENT INTERESTED IN MY CHILDREN’S STORY: A DAY AT THE DIGGER PARK. It’s an in-depth, truly moving story of two brother diggers and two brother trucks who take societal segregation head-on. (Yeah, that’s the hidden message, but really it’s just a cute story that will hopefully become a picture book classic)! The next step, in this multi-cut process, will be to send my story on to an editor for a professional critique. Then, once we get the thumb’s up, my agent will pitch the story to publishers that they think might be interested and would be a good fit. I believe that, then, the publisher will select an illustrator. (I’m still trying to learn all the ins and outs of this business). SO…we’re just at the beginning of a very long process, but it’s ridiculously exciting!! I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for the support. When I become a world-renowned, famous-shmamous, Pulitzer and Newberry-award winning author, I’ll remember all the little people who helped me get here. :)