When my oldest son got his driver’s permit we went looking for a “family” car. We decided on a 2 door pickup truck, taking away any temptation to drive too many kids. Fast forward 10 years later, as my daughter, our baby, graduated from college in Texas, the truck came back home with her. We decided instead of selling the pickup truck, it was going to live at our farm and become a utility vehicle. It was no longer needed in the suburbs as transportation now that my grown kids lived in different places.

All the sudden, as I was driving the pickup to the farm, I started realizing that he was being put out to pasture. Here was this incredible truck that served us so well. We bought it when my oldest was learning to drive and it was passed down to each of my others, as they learned to drive. This pickup truck was a part of the family and the center of all our kids’ activities. Now, it was just me and him on the road to his “retirement” home. Tears started streaming down my face, as I grasped the concept, I too was not needed anymore. I was feeling so reflective and sad, wondering how this truck would feel if he knew what was happening.

At this very moment, when I was assigning him my emotions, something clicked. I realized I was driving the main character in my children’s book. A book I didn’t even realize I needed to write! It’s hard to imagine that this pickup truck and I, a middle aged mom, could have parallel lives, guess what, we do. I cried as I explained(the personification of this truck), to my grown family, and the overwhelming feelings I had on this ride.

The memories and kinship I felt for this pickup truck were insane. So… Dude Remy was born! As I started to navigate the next chapter in my life, so too, did he. It was my three grown kids that encouraged me to write this book, something I had been talking about for years.