How Shmoopie—and My Story—Came to Life

Long, long ago, in a city far, far away from where I currently live, a little girl was born with two dreams. One, to become the best veterinarian this world had ever seen, and two, when I wasn't saving animals' lives as the superhero I believed I would be, I was going to write books. Lots and lots of books that would make children happy and me happy because I was making children happy. It was aaaalllll planned out. However, fate stepped in and had other plans.

My first dream was dashed when I found out that I had horrible allergies to almost all animals, as well as the weirdest things like roach dust, if I remember that correctly, but good Lord, who isn't just all-the-way "allergic" to roaches. They are, in my opinion, from the devil himself, as well as mosquitoes, but I digress. 

Well, the first dream I had to set aside, but dang it all, I still had that second dream...

In third grade, one of our assignments was to write a book with illustrations. Now, I had been writing little stories since I was able to hold a pencil, so this was a piece of cake, though my illustrations were a little scary, as I was not an artist. I decided to write the story based on these three very tall and wide evergreen trees that had grown close together on this empty lot down the street from where we lived. The absolutely incredible thing about these trees is that they decided to respect each other's space in the very middle, meaning the space inside these trees was hollowed out, if you will. So, if you were looking at these trees from the outside, they just appeared as a clump of trees, but there was a secret way to get to the middle of them that a few of us kids knew about, and it was like a tree cave in there. It was amazing! I wanted to live in the tree cave, but of course, that didn't happen, so I spent a lot of time in there, lying on the ground, looking up at those three trees. So, my first book, The Evergreen Trees, was born. It actually won an award, and thus, my baby writing career began to crawl. 

The next book I wrote a little later on was called Too Much Candy, after my unfortunate sister came home from the dentist with seven cavities. I wrote the book to help, but I think it just annoyed her.

After that, I jotted down ideas for stories that came to mind, but things like school and sports started to interfere with my writing career.

I had ADHD pretty bad as a kid, as well as dyslexia and dyscalculia, so reading and math were a massive struggle for me. Because my ADHD was so bad, my mom put me in sports based on some research she had done on ways to help ADHD, and thus, sports became my new obsession, so my writing career took a back seat.

Fast forward many many years, and I became a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and opened my own practice called Dragonfly Pediatric Therapy. My obsession and passion were helping children with special needs soar (like the dragonfly). Because I had a background of ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, I totally got these kids because I had been there, done that, and knew the struggle well. 

I had this holistic approach to Occupational Therapy that no one else had at the time. So, I wrote a book about it and coined the term The Dragonfly Approach of Pediatric Occupational Therapy. I was thrilled to be able to write again and help so many families navigate the rough waters of getting their children with special needs the help they needed. 

Now, my clinic was located in my converted garage, and the kids called what I had going on Oz, The Magic Place, and so many other precious names, too many to remember. They asked to have their birthday parties there and have sleepovers, too. I was honored that they found my clinic a joy to visit. I NEVER had a kid who didn't want to come to OT, and I can't begin to tell you how that made me feel. My approach was so comforting and effective; these kids were improving without even realizing it. 

I know, I know, get to the point, Sharon...

My clinic was filled with the most wonderful things, much like the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when they first set foot in Willy Wonka's candy world. My clinic and I were even featured in a magazine! But all good things must come to an end, and after 30+ years of being an OT and running a practice, I was tired, as I had been a one-woman show for that long.

Where Shmoopie comes in...

My Magic Place is now my office, but I still have A LOT of the wonderful things in there because these things make me happy. This room has helped spark the storytelling part of my brain, and I think God has decided it's time. So, all of a sudden, all the stories that had been hiding in my brain have come pouring out. Additionally, there are new ones because some of my "friends" who are still in my clinic-turned-office.

I have this poof with a bear face on it that the OT kids used to sit on while doing an activity, or lie on if they felt like it. "Shmoopie," as I fondly called him, is now gently tucked into a corner, and Winnie the Pooh sits on top of him. I remember walking by one day and laughing at the irony of Pooh, who is a bear, sitting on top of Shmoopie, another bear. And I thought, "I wonder if Shmoopie is jealous of Pooh because he is a regular-sized bear, whereas Shmoopie looks like a completely overstuffed bear, like the factory worker wasn't paying attention and he got waaaay too much fluff..." OMG! I need to write a book based on this! Thus, Shmoopie: A Whole Hug Planet was born from that tiny seed of irony. 

Because that part of my brain has decided to stretch, yawn, and come back to life, I have written over 30 other book ideas, and complete stories in some cases, in my story notebook. So, you may be hearing from me for years to come, it seems. I find myself drawing inspiration from my clinic-turned-office and from my own backyard. I have creatures galore who entertain me each day. Not to mention, the way back when ideas have found their way to my brain as well. I just feel so blessed.

I look forward to writing these stories and having you join me on this journey. And it just goes to show, it's never too late to get started.