Saturday was a nice extension of Christmas because I had the opportunity to make new friends because of Keeping Faith. It all started back in early December on Twitter when a young teacher from the Austin area saw my “follow” and wished me a happy birthday. She then indicated on Facebook that she was going to be in Ruidoso for Christmas, but would miss my book signing at Atticus. As we continued to communicate via FB, we planned a meeting, but of course, the snow had other ideas for us since her cabin is on a shady hill and mine is similar. Too much snow and too little sun rendered us both home bound or not venturing out very far.
So, it wasn’t until the 26th that I was able to meet her, her husband, and her aunt at Starbucks, where they bought two books and we visited. And what a nice time it was! As it turned out, Hope Melayne is a kindergarten teacher in Buda, and an award-winning one at that. In 2004, she was named Texas Exes Elementary Teacher of the Year, Teacher of the Year for her campus, and for Buda ISD. And I can see why—she is bubbly, enthusiastic, and personable. And Rob, her husband, was such a sweetheart to come and listen to three woman talk about school. He’s an avid golfer, tennis player, and engineer, so I know if the truth be told, he was bored out of his skull. But he was, nonetheless, pleasant and patient.
Also joining us was Hope’s Aunt Linda, who was a long time educator and a retired principal. She also served at Texas Education Agency for awhile as well as holding other administrative assignments. She lives in Ruidoso part of the year and is super interesting. We even knew a couple of the same people from the education field. You can imagine how much we had to talk about, and could have continued but Linda had a skier visitor arriving from the Dallas area, and Hope and Rob had a bathroom to paint at the family cabin. So, we said good bye and promised to stay in touch. What a nice way to continue a Christmas weekend.