Getting To Know You... Questions - Anna Christine Boulier

Questions & Answers with Hillary Blake

Anna Christine Boulier: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Hillary. I know you’re busy with school after winter break.

Hillary Blake: A little, but it’s been too long since we got together to talk. When you suggested this, I knew I had to come running.

ACB: Laughing. Meeting at your favorite coffee shop didn’t hurt.

HB: You know me so well.

ACB: How are the kids?

HB: Which ones? My third graders or my kids?

ACB: Both?

HB: Large grin that lights up her bright blue eyes. Both are good. My class is already thinking about Spring Break even though we just got back from a mini-vacation. My Magda and Daniel are just happy.

ACB: So different from when you first met them.

HB: Frowning. Yes, poor things. I was going through some papers from that time and brought what I found to show you. I knew you’d understand.

ACB: Let’s see.

HB: Pulling some papers out of her oversized purse and spread them out on the little coffee table they shared. I found these from my first few weeks with Magda, Daniel, and little Camilla. I wanted to get to know them better and thought I’d try what I always do with my new class each August.

Questions and Answers on the First Day of School

ACB: Picking up one of the sheets of paper. It looks like one of those generic fill-out forms with basic questions like name, favorite color, and stuff.

HB: Exactly, I thought it would be a fun way to get to know some things about the kids and for us to start interacting together.

ACB: How did it go?

HB: Tears in her eyes. Badly!

ACB: Why?

HB: Those poor babies didn’t know what they loved because they were struggling just to survive.

ACB: That’s awful!

HB: Nodding vigorously. Tell me about it.

ACB: How about you tell me?

HB: Smirking. Well, I asked Magda her name, simple enough and her birthday. She knew her favorite color was pink, but that was basically all she could answer. When I asked her what her favorite foods were, she just said she’d eat anything.

ACB: Poor little girl.

HB: Tears in her eyes. Yes, didn’t know any tv shows to choose a favorite, had no idea about sports and hadn’t attended school enough to know what subjects she liked.

ACB: That must have been hard for you to learn.

HB: Yes, and Daniel was similar, but he was more vocal about telling me he didn’t know. Sweet Magda, looked scared to tell me.

ACB: I see the papers are all filled out now.

HB: By the end of the summer, just before school started, we filled them out and the two oldest ones were able to answer all of the questions. Magda made the biggest changes with her becoming more outgoing. It was amazing to watch.

ACB: I noticed you have three pages. Did you fill one out?

HB: Starts laughing. No, actually I had several I’d set out one night and when I woke up the next morning, I discovered Luke had filled one out. This is his.

Questions for Hillary

ACB: That’s funny. Looking over the answers. What about you Hillary? What is your favorite color?

HB: Hmm… That’s hard, but I’d have to say pink and green.

ACB: Favorite TV Show?

HB: Anything on the cooking channel. I love Ina Garten, I find her show calming. When Camilla was fussy, I’d put on Ina and we’d watch together. She lulled sweet Camilla to sleep every time and I always got a new recipe out of it.

ACB: What did you want to be when you grew up?

HB: Easy, a teacher! I’ve wanted to teach even before I could read.

ACB: What are you good at?

HB: Hmmm. Teaching, cooking, and choosing the right tea to go with your meal.

Both ladies broke out into gales of laughter.

ACB: I know you need to get back home, it’s a school night.

HB: It is, but it was good to see you.

ACB: You, too!

Questions about Accepting Grace, Book Two in the Grace Series?

If you would like to read more about Hillary’s love of teaching and the three little kids, she nannied one summer, read my second novel in the Grace Series, Accepting Grace. You can purchase the novel here.