Earlier this week I was interviewed by a potential client to collaborate with her on a new book. She asked a few questions about my writing and then she asked me about writing First Things First with Kurt and Brenda Warner.
I know what people are expecting. They’re expecting me to give them some dirty little secret about the Warners (I didn’t learn any) or some insider knowledge into Kurt’s job (Kurt never once discussed football strategy with me, not too surprising if you know me well), or maybe some really cool fan moment where I touched his Super Bowl ring (hard to get excited about that when his kids wear it for dress-up). So I shared with her the same two stories that I tell anyone who asks about my time with the Warners.
The first story about Jesse Jo, I blogged about yesterday. If you haven’t seen the video, go there now, I’ll wait.
But today I promised to share the second story. This is my single favorite memory from being at the Warner’s house. I think my answer surprised the client. It wasn’t what she expected me to say in the middle of an interview to write her book. But it is what it is, and it’s my favorite memory.
After helping Kurt and Brenda Warner write their book, “First Things First,” friends and family members would ask me questions about the Warners like, “What are they really like?” “What was the most exciting thing you did while you were there?” “And is Brenda as hot in person as she was on TV at the Super Bowl?”
I spent nearly six days with the couple and their children and feel like I have a really good sense of who they are, unfortunately it’s not always what people want to hear.
Because I say, “They’re even better in person than the best things you’ve heard about them.” There was a moment when Kurt talked about how much he loves his wife and his family that made me want to get up and leave so I could go home and love my family that way. To hear Brenda talk about serving others made me want to do find causes I could commit to. “And yes,” I would tell them, “Brenda is very attractive in person.” “Yes, she’s changed her looks a lot since St. Louis,” and “No, she hasn’t had any more work done than I have,” (and mine comes out of a bottle).
But the one thing that seems to surprise questioners the most is my answer to “What was the most memorable thing you did while you were there?”
I think people are expecting me to say that I went to the Cardinals home field and threw the ball around with Kurt where I learned some cool insider information to help their fantasy football team. (I didn’t.) Or maybe that Brenda was hard to work with (she wasn’t she was incredible to work with–she’s extremely intelligent), or perhaps that when I got lost roaming in their mansion I accidentally came across the room where they have stacks of money, gold, and jewels. (While they have a very nice house–with seven kids to fill it–it hardly seemed like a mansion).
My answer to the question of what impressed me most while I was at their house is something completely unexpected. Even to me…
Right now, I literally (pun intended) have three books that I need to read by Friday and I am pretty sure I won’t get any of them done.
Are you a Debbie Macomber fan?
Dyslexic and the mother of four children, Debbie started writing at her kitchen table using a rented typewriter. It took her five years to publisher her first book. But since then she has become a regular on every major bestseller list and has over 100 MILLION copies of her books in print.
For most moms, sending their child off to kindergarten is a very emotional experience. I once spoke at a church on the first day of school. Each of the moms in the room had sent their first, last, or only child off to kindergarten. It didn’t matter what I said that day, most of the moms couldn’t hear me over their own sniffles. I remember sending my son off to kindergarten, I didn’t cry but I did feel a little lost without him around all day.
What I remember most from that day were the things Jordan said and did. Like when he came home from school and told me that he knew the name of one of the boys in his class.
“Really? What’s his name?”
