Dedications   

This book is dedicated to my mom, the only woman in the world whose backyard holds a secret mushroom cemetery. Well...it used to be a secret. And to my husband. You always warn me about the ants, but never discourage me from going on the picnic. And that is why I love you.

 Acknowledgements

Without the following people, Waiting for Spring would be sitting on the top shelf of my closet right now, in between my box of baseball cards and my husband's 8-track tapes:My kids, who didn't complain when the muses whispered to me while I was supposed to be making their supper. The Goober Patrol: Erin, Jo, Raf, Bec and Becky. You know what you did. Mr. Jim Reid, the best English teacher ever, who always expected me to write a book. I don't know if I would have tried if you hadn't. Alice, my favorite librarian, who told me about the Hippie Chimps. She was also the first person to fall in love with Brian. Hope you see him on the train again. Linda, the Hyphen-Queen. (Does "Hyphen-Queen" actually have a hyphen?) Thanks for saying, "Sure, I'll give it a read." Thanks for not pulling any punches when you were done. And thanks for helping me with all the toothbrushes. You rock. Amy, who read and critiqued the voluminous manuscript that came in her mailbox, the one I assured her was my Final Copy. Apparently the new definition of Final Copy is: "a manuscript in desperate need of revision." Thanks for your HONESTY and for being patient with all the emails that began with, "But..." Don, my go-to guy for the spiritual/religious aspects of the book. Thanks for reminding me of the things I should never have forgotten. Matt, my favorite Son of the Midwest, who battles Injustice. Thanks for helping me with all the Legal Stuff. And thanks for giving me my prized possession: an autographed Bill "Spaceman" Lee rookie card. Stan, who may or may not be a chimp. Thanks for teaching me how to be a lumberjack. Henry,  the expert on all the Gun Stuff. Thanks for teaching me that the cylinder thing swings and doesn’t slide. Because it's all in the little details.