I’m a guy in his 50s. I’m a proud member of Gen-X and lover of all things 80s. Yeah, that decade rocked, despite my Millennial husband who somehow just can’t appreciate hair bands, Atari 4600, the birth of MTV and Friday Night Videos, six television channels on UHF/VHF, and encyclopedias!
Wait, did you catch that? You read “husband,” right? I know you probably paused and quickly went back and looked at my name. Tom has a husband … does that mean he’s …??? Uh, yes, it does mean that. I’m also one of those guys who didn’t his way out of the closet for - wait for it - 30 years! So, if you’re doing the math, more than half of my life so far was spent being someone I wasn’t. Trust me though, the second part of life has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding (queue Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors”). It is this second half of life from which inspiration for my books abounds.
You see, it’s during this time that I met my husband and we created our family. I am a proud girl dad. My girls are three and seven years old (for this mid-fifties dude, that can certainly be a lot sometimes). They are the light of my life. My husband and I are blessed to be raising such strong, brave, confident young girls. And hey, they have gay dads, so they are also FIERCE!
I write kids books because I want my daughters to see families that look like theirs in the books they read. I write kids books because I want other kids to have greater appreciation for diverse families. I write kids books because it’s our job to make the world better for our kids. I write kids books … because I also want you to buy them! ;)
I want to connect with you, my readers and followers, in a more intimate way. I want to get to know you and you to know me. I find that email updates are too structured; they don’t allow for relationship building. This is a space for sharing and pulling back the curtain. It’s a space that allows for the appreciation of our shared humanity.
There are moments, correction - there are treasures, hidden in course of everyday life that can get lost if not for the intentionality to pause and appreciate them. For me, as a parent, those treasures can be the spontaneous reach for my hand, the random “I love you,” the moment my three year puts a half eaten piece of food on my plate because she wants to “share,” or when my seven year old (aged five at the time) told a friend on the playground all about her adoption experience [the inspiration for the award-winning book Scoochie’s Adoption Story]. These all contribute to my story-telling and I want to use this space to capture those moments and share them with you.
Of course, we all know that parenting isn’t always glamorous. Our family certainly has its share of sibling tensions, competing for attention, and the random, seemingly unprovoked meltdown. And my husband and I are equally imperfect. We too have our share of tensions, competition for attention and the random, seemingly unprovoked meltdown.
But this is all part of the journey - our journey, one that we can experience together.
So, let’s make this our space. Let’s create a community, here! Let’s celebrate those treasured moments together and graciously affirm and embrace our imperfections. Let’s laugh together. Let’s sigh together. Let’s find moments to take a break from the every day and find comfort in our shared experience.
Substack allows for paid subscriptions, but that’s not my goal here. Maybe one day I’ll have 50,000 followers and I’ll reconsider, but for now, my Musings will be free all the time.
This is new space for me. I’ll endeavor to post
at least twice a month. It could be more than that, but remember, I have two little kids and, while I may still feel like a teenager in some respects, my stamina isn’t quite the same. I am tired at the end of the day. So, twice per month is my goal, at least to start.
Subscribe. Please. Don’t let me sit in this space all by myself. I’ve created this for you, for us. Subscribing is your way to telling me it’s worth it.
Check out my website. I’m no web-master, but my site has all the info you need about me and my books. It’s worth a visit. https://www.tomtracybooks.com
Leave a comment. Wanna make this fun? Tell me your generation and your favorite thing about your generation. Just try and top the 80s and our cassette tapes, I dare ya! By the way, leaving a comment is the way I get to know you better too. ;)
Until next time, “C-ya!”
Thank you for reading Musings from Children's Author, Tom Tracy. This post is public so feel free to share it.
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