Recognition

As a writer/author, I guess I strive for recognition. The knowledge that someone has read my work and thought about it, maybe even liked it, is the tantalizing reward for hours of looking for just the right way to say what I am feeling. Today was my reward.
I stood in line for 45 minutes to buy some CLEARANCE merchandise at a department store that is closing. The salesgirl was overwhelmed, the line was long, and she was so incredibly slow-paced that I was glad my will was up to date. I might not have made it through the line, which would mean that I would not be purchasing my sale items anyway.
I was wearing my "Annie's Plan" t-shirt. (Annie's Plan is my second children's book that I wrote for Magination Press. I put the cover of the book on a t-shirt to advertise.) Today I was not really advertising. I was wearing the shirt because I had just done a rather ineffective workout with my trainer and I still had the sweaty shirt and pants on. Hardly something to be proud of.
As I stood at the front of the line, seriously wondering if I should leap over the counter and take over for the poor clerk, a little girl behind me asked in a loud voice:
"Did you write Annie's Plan?"
I nodded and smiled. Her brother came forward.
"Our teachers read that book to us. We love that book."
My back ceased aching, I stood up straighter and everyone around me smiled. I had fans!
They were looking at me like I was a mega-star. Justin Bieber had nothing on me at that minute. I scrabbled through my purse, and found 2 of my business cards with my books pictured on them and handed them to the kids. They gushed. And then...
"Could you sign them for us?"
For a big-time author, this moment might mean very little. But it meant the world to me.