Viva Las Disneyland!

Bring on Summer Vacation!

We (my DH, 3 little boys, and I) just got home from a road trip to Vegas and S. Calif. Now I'm home with a few new freckles, a mountain of sandy clothes to wash, an empty wallet, and an insanely crammed schedule. But I thought I'd take a moment to share WHY we took the kids on this particular trip.

When my oldest son was about 4 (he's 7 now), I was in the midst of searching for a literary agent, a big step in many authors' lives. One agent had requested my full manuscript, but had mailed it back because she wasn't impressed. My son wanted to know why I was sad, and I explained to him in simple terms, "No one wants to buy my book."

"What happens when someone buys it?" he wanted to know.

"We're going to Disneyland," I said.

Later that day, I spotted my son in our front yard, the rejected manuscript on his cardboard box lemonade stand. The pages were stapled together with great care, and he'd added an occasional crayon illustration.

Unfortunately, his approach didn't work. However, a couple of years later, someone did buy a manuscript of mine, and it'll be in bookstores this December. So, of course, we just had to go to Disneyland to celebrate!

I'm curious: how do you reward yourself for reaching your goals?

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