A Clock, a Coffee Pot and a Field of Lilies

It has always been a life long dream to write. I published my first book 6 months ago. The book is remarkable only because it is a story about a remarkable man, my father. I wrote it as a way to deal with my grief upon his death which left me absolutely lost, speechless and broken hearted. The death of a loved on completely shatters a person. Writing about him and his unique life gave me the opportunity to hold on to him and get to know him even better.

It took me about a year to write the book and with every word, there were tears. I cried like a baby through the whole process. I have five children and my days are quite busy, so I could only find the peace and quiet I needed to focus at night after they went to bed. This time was my special time to be with my father as I thought about him, read things he wrote, and looked at old family photographs. I felt his spirit was guiding me and I often asked him what he would like for me to say. Sometimes I would write several pages and then get writer's block. And then, I would go to bed defeated only to wake up the next day refreshed and renewed knowing in my heart I was writing in the wrong direction and would have little epiphanies of what the message of my story should really be.

So, little by little the story emerged. And the message of it is beautiful. And that is not because of anything I created, it is simply because I was his voice for a little while. I became a humble channel for him.

The book is inspirational as it takes the reader along a journey about loss and hope. It tells the story of my father's addiction and how he learned a better way to live through the hope he found at Alcoholics Anonymous. The hope he found, he shared and helped so many others. Now, with this book, his story continues to touch others.

When the book first came out, I ordered 750 books. I thought it would take a mighty long time to sell them all. The proceeds from the books go to my father's foundation, the J. Michael Hosford Foundation, which enables us to not only share his story through words, but continue the path of actions of helping others through financial support. I cannot tell you what a good feeling this gives me.

The books were all sold out within a few weeks. There was such a local interest for the story of Dr. Mike. So, we ordered more books and now they are sold out. In just 6 months, we've sold over 1,000 books with no advertising, no mass marketing, no book orders on any internet site; just word of mouth.

Now I am ready for the story to reach out beyond our little neck of the woods. A Clock, a Coffee Pot and a Field of Lilies along with the new book I've been writing (which is called, Biscuits) are going to begin courting potential publishers. Please think good thoughts for the right person to discover these stories.

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow

What does it mean when your 8 year old son has a friend over and your 5 year old daughter comes out of her room wearing a bathing suit and some fancy dress up high heels? She opened her door very dramatically and struck a honest- to- God pose like some sort of pin-up girl. She batted her eyelashes and said, "Hello, Andrew."

I was stunned but had to run upstairs to laugh in my pillow so Mollie wouldn't hear me. Fischer and Andrew were totally oblivious to Mollie's attempts to win Andrew's attention. I guess they thought she was just getting ready to swim somewhere.

Later, I whispered to Mollie that she should change clothes since it was too cold to be wearing a swim suit and also that it wasn't appropriate. And she said, "But I look good, don't I?" And then she did some pretty fantastic dance moves. Where does she learn this stuff? I don't know.

We finally got some snow that we've been wishing for. We got a whopping 3/4 inch and everything closed down. One poor loaf of Wonderbread lay smushed on the floor as panicked patrons made mad dashes to the grocery store to stock up on milk, bread and batteries. I was reminded of my first winter in Taos, New Mexico the first time it snowed one evening. I was so happy to stay in bed the next morning assuming the whole town was snowed in and shut down. I woke to the sound of the telephone ringing. It was my boss asking where in the world I was. I was like, "It snowed!" And she was like, "I know! You're not in Georgia any more, so get yourself to work!" I learned pretty damn quickly how to get snow off my car, how to buy snow tires, and how to shovel a driveway. I realized how lucky we are in the south that whole towns close at the sight of a few flurries so that we can hibernate and enjoy the beauty.