I started this book when my children, now in their 30’s, had flown from the nest. Although I had known this would happen, I did not realize how quiet and odd it would feel. I have been writing in journals for years, drawing illustrations to go with the entries, and thus the book began about 10 years ago. Sometimes it sat untouched for many months on a shelf in my kitchen where I worked on it. It is strange how much older I am at 60 than when I started writing it (at 50). Time is the ever elusive puzzle.