I recently re-watched Hope Floats, the 1998 American drama directed by Forest Whitaker, starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, and Mae Whitman. I originally took my late mother, Judy, to see this in the theater. Judy cried almost the whole way through the film. A profound memory because Judy was what we call a boot-strap woman in our family. Her favorite saying to us 7 kids was "suck it up." You almost never saw her cry. Hope Floats struck a special chord with her. In numerous ways. For example, Mom was my right hand partner during my corporate career years, driving to my house to make sure Taylor got on and off the special-needs school bus without a hiccup. Inspired by the relationship between the three generations of women in Hope Floats and driven by her special bond with Miss Tay, my mom began repeating a line from the movie, "You’re going to school Rocky," with my daughter. She said so especially when Miss Taylor drug her feet in an attempt to get out of going to school. Which, by the way, was quite often. Today, I use the same line on FaceTime with my granddaughter. These are my inspirations. New Traditions. Memories. Great Stories. Lines that stick.
Taylor and I have been spending long hours, days, and months working on our upcoming volume in The Fox Hollow Series: Tales of Thunder. On many occasions, Miss Tay would roll her eyes when I would liner her with "You’re going to work Rocky" every time she attempted to avoid writing and painting. Today, I want to shout from the treetops "way to go—way to finish what you started—way to share your beautiful light and colors—way to shine! You Rock, Miss Tay!" Because she did it. She worked hard. She stared the obstacles straight in the face. Planted her feet in the ground and proclaimed that she could do it. Not because she had to. Because she wanted to.
We are super excited to pre-announce our upcoming book, Tales of Thunder, Book 6 in The Fox Hollow Series. Miss Tay joins me as co-author and co-illustrator on this one. Super cool! It will be available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. This one is a very special story that strikes a chord in our hearts. We hope it strikes your heart as well. For 2023, we have decided to be on a thunderous mission to promote joy and kindness. This sweet tale fits!
Meanwhile, check out our new merchandise with the theme Kindness Rocks on our website Shop page: www.bonniejgibson.com/shop. You'll also find more super fun, cool, colorful, love-inspired merch. Buy whatever makes you smile and don't forget to share some love too!
Warning: wearing, sharing, and carrying these cool items might result in general public smiling. Use often to keep that side effect alive! Yippee! Smile!
Rockys, keep rocking it! Love, Bonnie + Miss Tay
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