So, remember how I was all worried about my kids coming to one of my book signings? A funny thing happened this weekend at the Decatur Book Festival!

I got food poisoning. Oh, wait. That doesn’t have anything to do with this story, I suppose. But I did get food poisoning—the night before our panel and signing—and so as you might imagine, I was not exactly feeling at my finest when Saturday morning rolled around. No no no. But I got myself there and did my thing and put on a brave face and tried very hard to pretend that I felt just fine. (Thankfully, I was no longer violently ill, and mostly I was just exhausted.) But that is neither funny nor the point I wanted to make. I just couldn’t resist mentioning it.

No, the funny thing is that my kids showed up!

When my ex-husband comes to town to spend the weekend with the kids, he generally has an itinerary of fun and games all planned out, but to my great surprise he called up on Friday and asked what there was to do with kids on Saturday, and before I could stop myself, I was saying, “Well you know, there’s a lot of fun stuff for kids going on at the Decatur Book Festival.”

It’s true, too. There’s a children’s stage and lots of activities and freebies and for a couple of budding book nerds like my kids, it’s a pretty fabulous event. But I didn’t really think he would bring them. I thought I was making a clever joke. Like, “Haha! You could bring them to this event that I’ll be at because I actually turned my ‘little hobby’ into a career, the event where I’ll be promoting the book you refuse to acknowledge even exists!” (It’s nice how I’m not bitter, dontcha think?)

Well, it turned out that the kids really wanted to come, and so my ex brought them. I was sitting there signing books when I heard “MAMA!” and my kids barreled through the line and tackled me.

And it was awesome and I was so happy to see them I nearly started bawling.

Part of it was that I was still feeling sick and crummy, and part of it was that I was touched that my ex actually brought them to see me when he really didn’t have to, but most of it was just that my participation in this book wouldn’t have happened without them, and it was just really nice to let them come and see what was happening. There weren’t a ton of folks around, by the time they came, and the ones who were still there were all smiles to see them. I know I was.

I could write another ten posts about what the festival was like for me, as a writer—what it meant to me to meet so many folks I admire, the incredulity I felt to find myself discussing blogging with someone who is by all accounts famous but who wants my opinion, the moment when Hollis Gillespie’s daughter asked me for my autograph and I said “Oh, you don’t want that, I’m not anyone” and Hollis immediately insisted that I certainly am (I’m sure she was just being nice, but it was somewhat surreal!)—but it turned out, after all my worrying, that it was just right as a mom, to have the kids there for a little bit.

It turned out that the collision of my worlds was actually pretty pleasant. And a special holla going out to Cornered Office regular Lee, who was pretty and gracious and fun to meet on Saturday. I hope I said something besides “OhmygoshIhadfoodpoisoning!” because I’m pretty sure that’s mostly what I said after our panel was over, to anyone who spoke to me.

Yep, it was nice to have the kids see me being so smooth and everything. Heh.