A simple explanation for writing this story…

            Some of my favorite childhood memories of my mother are her cuddling up in bed with me and my brother and reading us a story. When I became a mother, I continued the tradition of reading to my children and years later reading to my grandchildren. My youngest child Ramie loved to hear stories of when she was a baby. She could lay in bed, in the crook of my arm and listen to stories for hours. She wanted to hear stories about her sister and brother and what had they been like as babies. She wanted to know about my childhood and what was it like for her Dad growing up on the farm. Any little bit of information was wonderful - it was like she was catching up.  
 
            When Ramie became a Mom she read to her daughter and I read to her often as well. When Railee got a bit bigger and started spending the night with Grama, she would climb in my bed and ask me to tell her a story. That little stinker wanted to know about her Mom, her relatives, all our lives before her arrival - she was just like her Mom wanting to know what she had missed.  
            
            Gradually Rai started giving me prompts - asking me to tell her a story about a thumb or a mirror - the prompts were somewhat unusual. One night she surprised me with a normal prompt and asked me to tell her a story about three little frogs. This is the story that I told her that night, before she finally drifted off to sleep. I hope you enjoy the story I developed for my sweet Rai and I hope you share the environmental message with your little ones.
 

            Those three paragraphs serve as an introduction in my first book – “Tell Me A Story Oma Sue, About Three Frogs.” That simple explanation outlines one very important aspect of my writing – family. I love my children and grandchildren very much and I wanted them to have a unique memory of their Oma Sue.  

            Oh, I know that they will remember me. My oldest daughter assured me that they won’t forget how I always stood in the street and repeatedly shouted “Bye – I love you” as they drove away after spending an afternoon or weekend at my house. Me shouting at the moving car, they rolling down the windows and shouting back, has been going on for years. That kind of crazy shouting, you can’t forget.

             I also wanted them to have a tangible object – something they could hold in their hands and maybe one day share with their own children and grandchildren. So, family was the main motivation for producing my first book and remains the main motivation for most everything I do in this life.

            A second motivation for producing the book was my passion for keeping Fremont beautiful.  I worked for over three decades as the Executive Director of Keep Fremont Beautiful, Inc. I dedicated most of my adult career to improving everyone’s waste handling practices and encouraging our citizens to take greater responsibility for improving the environment. You don’t just turn that aspect of your life and personality off when you retire – at least I didn’t.  The book is a continuation of my education efforts at Keep Fremont Beautiful. 

            ​It is my hope that the message contained in my first book will be shared far and wide. It is also my hope that children and the grown ups in their life will take personal responsibility for disposing of trash properly, reducing litter and respecting our shared natural areas and the wildlife who live there.