enough to form a professional relationship with Lee Bennett Hopkins, the prolific and generous anthologist, and was invited to write poems for his collections. I had admired his work for years, so I felt extremely honored and, in a way, complete. Being both a mother and a writer made me feel whole, as if I was finally the grown-up that little girl had always wanted to be.

My children are all grown up now. I have a sweet and curious grandson, Ian, and a granddaughter, Mia. There are no words that say how much I love them all. When I wake up in the morning, I still feel the excitement of being in my writing room, at this desk, surrounded by books, reading and writing poetry. And although I will always be one of those mothers who wish for the hands of the clock to scale that tale of magic and do the impossible, turn back—it can't be so. But a grand and magical second place is to just keep turning pages of books and fiddling with words. Just like that girl on Falcon.