How my late 101-year-old mom continues to enhance my life is the topic for today’s Just TypiKel.
Hi. If you’re new here, welcome! If not, welcome back. It’s been a minute; I’ve missed you.
So, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Have I gone around the twist? What’s with the rather woowoo, “How my late 101-year-old mom continues to enhance my life”? Well, it started when my book, Never, Never, Hardly Ever, was selected as a finalist for the 4th Annual Zibby Awards.
Finalists for the 4th Annual Zibby Awards 2024
Best Coming-of-Age Book
Kelly McKenzie
Never, Never, Hardly Ever
Lorelei Darling
Somewhere Will Find You
Mimi Zieman
Tap Dancing on Everest
Anastasia Zadeik
The Other Side of Nothing
Cherry Lou Sy
Love Can’t Feed You
I’d love to attend, but with the awards ceremony held in New York City, some 3000 miles away from me, the Canadian West Coaster, it wouldn’t be a day trip. Toss in the fact our Canadian dollar is currently worth just under 70 cents to its American cousin, and I decided not to go.
How My Late 101-Year-Old Mom Continues To Enhance My Life
Words from Francine, who passed away in June at 101, flooded my brain. I couldn’t stop them.
“How marvelous, Kel. Oh, how I love New York! When do you leave?”
“Leave? I can’t possibly go, Mom.”
“What utter nonsense. Remember when I was a TV contestant on Live A Borrowed Life in Toronto in the 60’s? Did I fly right home after winning that chunk of money posing as the Dalai Lama? Certainly not. I cancelled my flight and invited your Auntie Rose to meet me in Manhattan. We had a marvelous time, as will you. Book your flights. NOW.”
I booked ’em.
I’d spend the first few nights in Connecticut to acclimatize.
Connecticut is a hotbed for writers. My editor lives there. As does my publisher. I also reached out to my pal, Allia Zobel Nolan, whom I met at our first Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in 2016. You might remember Allia as the gal behind our anthology Laugh Out Loud. Nominated for two Zibby Awards, she generously offered to host me at her Connecticut home.
And Then The LA Fires Broke Out
Elizabeth “Zibby” Owens is the gal behind the Zibby Awards. An American writer and podcast host, she’s known for her podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books. Based in New York City, Zibby runs a successful independent bookstore in Santa Monica, California. She also owns a home in the Pacific Palisades …
Thankfully both her home and the bookstore were spared in the fires but of course she couldn’t carry on as normal. The Zibby Awards were cancelled.
No need for me to do the trip now, right? Francine thought otherwise.
“Go anyway, Kel. Just go.”
Mom still knows best.
I flew to Montreal, then on to JFK and hunkered down in a hotel near the airport for the night. The next morning I hopped aboard the hotel shuttle, took the subway to Grand Central and jumped on the Long Island Rail Road to Stamford, Connecticut. Operating from 3:30am my time, I felt I deserved an award for arriving at the correct spot, ten minutes early. Allia didn’t disappoint. She and her Irish husband Desmond couldn’t have been more hospitable.
I never quite believed Allia had adopted a dog. A lifelong feline fan, she’s known for her cat books, as well as her books for children, adults, worriers, tween devotionals, and lots more. But a dog? Yep, Miss Kitty is real.
Next up was lunch with our editor, Jacqueline Smith. Having never met Jacky, it was long overdue. She’s one crackerjack editor. I’m thrilled she’s to be honored as a recipient of the 2025 Yankee Quill Award in March.
Hello, three hour lunch.
Another highlight was finally meeting Amanda Miller of My Word Publishing. Never, Never, Hardly Ever would be a very different book without her endless help. She guided me through every step from acquiring the ISBN to setting up KDP. (No worries, I hadn’t a clue what either was a year ago either.) It was an honor and a delight to meet her in person after the hours of Zooming. Turns out Amanda lives eight minutes from Allia.
Thank you, Allia, for your timely offer and making me feel so welcome.
If you’ve read to the end, thank you. I hope you enjoyed learning about how my late 101-year-old mom continues to enhance my life. It really was a blind leap of faith to go ahead with the trip. Even though no one won a Zibby this year, we all feel like winners.
Better yet, the trip didn’t end there … stay tuned.
29 Responses
Glad you went, looks like you had a good time. Had to laugh at your comment about the Canadian dollar. Only this evening we were watching the news and when the finance report was on my son commented “HOW is our Aussie dollar only worth .68 American cents”.
Gosh – your dollar is hovering around the same mark as ours? Wow. Makes you think twice, doesn’t it? They say ours could go as low as 60 cents sometime this year. If so, we’ll be coming over to see you rather than zip across the border into the States.
Love the post. We did have fun. But are you using what you learned about birthdays when you go to a restaurant? Remember to drop the hint as the server goes by…. “Well, it IS my birthday.” And voila, you will get dessert on the house. We loved having you and my hubby said, “When is Kelly coming back?” So there’s an open invitation. ERMA rocks and unites kindred souls. How awesome.
Thank you for mentioning the birthday dessert tip. I was going to include it in the post but felt you might not wish me to share it with the world. It’ll be fun to see if anyone mentions the lit candles. I’ll keep ya posted, if so. Thank you for the open invitation – I do miss you all. I’ll come with a bucket of pretzels next time. Promise.
It was so much fun to meet you in person, Kelly – finally! The three of us, including Allia on her “birthday,” could have kept gabbing, sharing stories, and laughing into the night. Listen to Allia and come back! And thank you for listening to your mom on this one. (I remain so impressed that you navigated the NYC subway system, Grand Central – which is huge and confusing (and beautiful) – and the rail to get to the exact right spot in Connecticut!)
You’re absolutely right – we could have kept gabbing, sharing stories, and laughing into the night. Our birthday girl is quite something, no? If Allia keeps it up, she’ll be 100 in a few weeks. Ha! So funny. I must admit it was daunting looking at the route required to get to the right spot in Connecticut. However, once I started, everything fell into place. Your transit system is a wonder.
I have missed your posts Kelly! So happy to hear about this trip (congrats on the nomination!!) and I wholeheartedly agree that Francine was helpful in making this trip a reality.
Thanks so very much, Katy. I not only heard Francine but I could picture her – a vision in purple, wagging her finger at me and leaning forward in her favourite yellow chair. Had I not listened, oof. I dread to think of the consequences.
Love everything about this! Food for the soul!
You said it, Chels. Food for the soul, indeed.
How marvellous Kelly, what a hoot! Luv how you blame your mother for your great decisions haha I look forward to your next trip to NZ xxxxxx
It was an absolute hoot, Jo. And, as you know, there’s more to come. Ken, who?
What a great trip!
It was great fun, Kathy. I wish I could have stayed longer.
Love this post Kelly ! So very happy you listened to your Mum, she would be just tickled to know that you went. Amazing for you to meet your connections in person !
She would be tickled to know I went. So very true, Jane!
I am so glad you went what an amazing trip, I love Miss Kitty. It must have been so nice for you to meet the people that have been in your life for awhile. Congrats on the nomination k think you should have won.
Aw, Kim, thank you. You’re the best. As no one won, Zibby says we’re all winners! Ha! It was really nice to meet these folks, especially as they helped me so very much.
“101 BE FUN” continues!
YES! It truly does, Wend.
So great that you decided to go!
Thanks, Ash. I know Gaga would be SO delighted. For that reason, I honestly couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t gone.
Another great adventure Kel. Thanks for sharing
Aw, thanks so much for reading and leaving a comment, Lynda.
such great memories made! I’ll forever be grateful for you coming out here and getting to spend a wonderful afternoon together chatting!!!!
Amanda, it was just the best meeting you in person. Thank you for sharing your afternoon with me. And I’m still grinning over our pickup transaction. “Where are you parked?”
Kelly if I’d only known I would have been happy to pick you up at the airport!
I am so impressed that you navigated the subway system. I’m Bronx born but was raised on Long Island and still live here. I don’t even take the subway! I am smack dab in the middle of the island and please know if there are any more awards in my neck of the woods, you have a place to stay!
What?!? How extraordinary. I had NO idea you lived so close. I would have loved to have met up with you. Darn. Next time for sure!