What I did this weekend

1. On Friday night I rushed home to my family and promptly ignored them to watch an Iowa wrestling match on the Internet. I don't think they noticed.

2. On Saturday morning I got up early (i.e. before noon) and went downtown to Books of Wonder to see a reading by author/illustrator Todd Parr. How nice is Todd Parr? He's like Mister Rogers without all the negativity.

I saw my Little, Brown editor, Allison, at the reading. And multiple toddlers that I wanted to play with--if only we lived in a world in which a middle-aged man could walk up to a mom in a bookstore and say, "Can I play with your toddler?" (I did let one of them chew on my Todd Parr book while I was waiting in line for Todd to autograph it.)

3. On Saturday afternoon I went BACK to Books of Wonder to do my Ninja Day reading with fellow author Corey Rosen Schwartz. We had a decent turnout (enough for a baseball team) and we didn't get booed off the stage. Pics below:

4. Today I went for a run around the reservoir, procrastinated from doing any writing or work on finding a higher paying job, and ended the day with burgers from Shake Shack. (Bonus: Samuel just walked in and said, "Dad, do you want the rest of my shake?")

You know, I wish I could cure cancer, end hunger, and persuade people that God doesn't really want them to kill people in his name.

For now, I vow to hang out with positive people: children's authors, children's book editors, toddlers, kids who like to do ninja kicks, mangy Spaniels who crave food and attention, and my own little family whom I love and who loves me in spite of my not paying more attention to them or how we're going to pay our kids' college tuition.

We're still alive, and that's a good first step.