The Mom Cave makes it into Chicken Soup for the Soul!

I had the best December EVER!

One evening, as life was swirling around me, my phone sounded.

"Mom, your phone is calling you 'beautiful' again," said our younger son with attitude.

I smiled. I did so because I didn't care what our child thought. For, on my cell phone was a ringtone that, indeed, called me 'beautiful' and announced that I had incoming e-mail. It did so in a deep male voice, and, simply put, to hear that all day long was delicious.  It made me giggle.

Simple pleasures, you know?

Cooking with one hand, I quickly grabbed the phone with my other--because there is always a spare hand for my phone. There they were. E-mails from the publishers at Chicken Soup for the Soul telling me that five pieces that I submitted for one of their upcoming books had been chosen for the final round of selection.

My hand shook. I stopped what I was doing and stared at the messages in disbelief. Was this really happening?

Three months prior, I had submitted some pieces to them upon the suggestion of a blogging friend. The book was to be called Raising Kids on the Spectrum, a topic I knew intimately. In fact, I could have written the entire book. Quick! Somebody give me some paper! Nobody bother me! I had a thing or two to say.

I did not write an entire book. Life happened, you see.  As it turned out, this project came around during a time that our older son was having seizures and our younger son, severely school phobic, started the new school year in the safety of our home. There was no dedicated time to write.

Instead, I wrote bits and pieces. I wrote here and there. I wrote on whatever topic came to my mind regarding this crazy life with autism whenever I had a spare moment. And, when the deadline arrived for the submissions, I put down my pen, and I hoped.

Eagerly, I checked my e-mail as weeks turned into months. Eventually, I started looking at their web site, expecting to see an announcement that the book was soon to be released, an announcement that would confirm that my words had not made the cut.

Then came that glorious day in early December when, one after another, those e-mails arrived. I felt sick with excitement. It was almost too much to process, and, absolutely, I was good for nothing the rest of that day.

The following weeks were filled with releases and edits. What was the rule about semicolons again? Was that a uniform sentence? Holy smokes! If this was going to be published, I sure didn't want to fall flat on my face!

Too nervous to tell the world, I chose only a select few. Together, we hoped, waited and hoped some more.

Today, I can say with pride that two of those five pieces made the final cut. They will be published in the book among 101 stories about autism. My stories. My voice will be heard among others as we tell about the life, loss, love and lessons that accompany autism.

Released April 2, 2013, this book promises to be an inspirational and collective voice for the autism community. Thank you, Chicken Soup, for including me.

Thanks to all of you as well, for taking the time to visit The Mom Cave and share in the stories I've posted about my little family. I genuinely appreciate you all.

Coming soon: The Stories that Chicken Soup Did Not Want. :)  I might as well do something with them, right?

Have a great day, everyone!