(Our first holiday photo with all the grands in 2012). Payton - I hope you can laugh at yourself now and not want to kill me!)

I already mentioned in a couple of places that my four-year-old granddaughter (above) and I were looking for something to do - mostly ways to entertain her without a lot of physical movement, hiding or play acting on my part.  Anyway, we created I Forget, which got tucked away in a dresser drawer with other mementos for more than a decade.

We recently moved. We also did a lot of purging (we are at that age, and there's no easy way to say this, we did "death cleaning")! I've heard enough grumbling from adults cleaning out their parents' homes when the time came. I'm trying to avoid that grumbling and "why did they save this," and laughing over vintage items they would probably label as crap. "God-willing and the creek don't rise," I'm not planning to check out anytime soon!

I came across our original 'manuscript' while purging.

Part two of the story: I was in the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) and retired from our local community college. SURS had a Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that basically cut Social Security benefits almost in half. This reduction recently came to an end because the Social Security Fairness Act of 2025 repealed the WEP. Yay! To make a long story a little shorter, anyone in the SURS received a lump sum check and an increase in Social Security.

Part three continues as such: I am turning 75; I'd say that is sort of a landmark birthday. I wanted to gift myself something special, and I decided that, with that surprise lump sum, I would like to try to self-publish Gianna's and my 13-year-old book. It meant researching companies that provide that service and hiring an illustrator. That process is a little difficult - so many sample illustrations, but if you are a children's author in need of an artist (not Ai), finding someone with what you have in mind can be a process.

I contacted a company specializing in bringing childrens's books to life from beginning to end, and they put me in touch with one of their colleagues, Will Robertson, also an author and illustrator. I took one look of his artwork and bravely asked him if it was possible to hire him. He agreed to illustrate I Forget and "hand-held' me through the entire process from beginning to end. Everyone who has seen the book loves his illustrations.

And, I did not forget Gianna. Some of her illustrations are most definitely included at the end of the book.

That's my story of a silly Yaya and her granddaughter creating a children's book together.