Pull up a chair and pour a cup. We're gonna be here awhile.
PROLOGUE
This has not been the best week ever.
I haven't written about it here yet because I want to save my words for a while and continue in the practice of not telling things out loud, but the mid-point of this week was marked by the passing of my ninety-two year old grandmother. On either side of that mid-point were dreary days, continual persistent sickness (it just gets to you after a while, doesn't it), financial woes, and shuffling of plans and schedules and all manner of unsettledness.
Yesterday, Dacey woke up with a fever which threatened to disrupt our plan for traveling to my grandmother's funeral, and it completely derailed the two days of the week she had been most looking forward to at school: Pajama Day and Scarecrow Day. I was bummed over that and just convinced Kyle would not feel comfortable staying home with a sick preschooler on his own while I took off on my planned outing to go to Ree's book signing at Full Circle Books in Oklahoma City.
At lunch, Kyle sensed I was not at ease. I poured out all of my not-greatness, and finished by saying, "And I guess I'm not going to get to go see the Pioneer Woman tonight after all." I may have concluded that sentence with a pitiful sigh. Details are sketchy.
"No! Go! Go. We'll be fine. You should go."
Happy sigh.
The Tale
So I pushed forward with my plan for a fun outing on my own. My friend Elizabeth had gone to see Ree in Tulsa on Tuesday night, and she prepared me for the fact that though she got there early, it was still crowded. The signing in OKC started at 6:30, so I figured getting to the bookstore around 6ish would be reasonable.
Because obviously I had no idea.
NO IDEA.
No idea.
I fixed up a meatloaf dinner for my family (complete with instant mashed potatoes, and when I noticed the irony of serving that up to my family as I waltzed out the door to be graced by the presence of The One who creates these, I laughed. Quite a bit.)
I felt good in my favorite pair of jeans, my go-to black silk turtleneck sweater (Oh Harold's, how I miss thee!), and my love-em-yes-I-do black boots. I felt even better when I hopped in Kyle's pick-up truck, fired it up, and wouldn't ya know it? There were playin' me some George on the radio!
Friends, I felt positively sassy as I pulled out of town. I tapped my toes and sang my heart out when the DJ played some Old School Shania (ANY MAN OF MIIIIIIINE, BETTER WALK THE LIIIIINE . . .). My girls were happy to be at home with Daddy, I was headed to The City to one of my favorite bookstores ever, and a little group of the PW faithful were going to get to mix and mingle and get us some cookbooks signed.
Sassy, I tell you.
I was right on time by my clock as I pulled into the bookstore parking lot. Sure, it was packed, and yes, there were quite a few women streaming in, clutching Ree's cookbook and grinning. It was nearing time to start, so it made sense that this would be when this little group of groupies would thicken en masse.
When I walked in and saw the line was stretched not only out of the bookstore, but snaked for yards and yards and feet and feet all the way through the building that houses the Full Circle and on into perpetuity it seemed. Well. I'm not gonna lie to you, friends. A Schedule II curse escaped my lips. I couldn't help it, really. There were just so many people. So many people!! I can't even begin to estimate. Hundreds. All of them thumbing through their books.
Did I mention that I did not have a book when I arrived? I did not have a book because there is nowhere in my little town to buy a copy of Ree's cookbook and I only just discovered that this event was taking place and I figured I'd just pick up a copy at Full Circle. You know, the bookstore. Hosting this little book signing.
At this point, I had a decision to make. Stay? Go? I had solid child care and not a whole lot else to do, so I opted to stay. I fought my way to the check-out desk at Full Circle and discovered oh.
The book is sold out.
Oh.
But wait! Ree was bringing more copies with her! The darling, precious, young clerk at the desk explained that if I wanted to, I could buy a copy, hang on to my receipt, and my book would be waiting for me when I got to the book signing table.
Now I really had a decision to make. If I bought a book this way, I was committed. I was there. Long haul and all that. It took me about three seconds to say, "Okay. Yes. Here's my card."
And that's where Part One will have to leave off for now. Not because I know how to create a suspenseful story, but rather because I've got a Cinderella and Fairy Princess to prepare for Trunk or Treating.
Here's a little taste of what you can expect in the next installment - a whole, whole lot of me starting at these:
