One night in 2022, Jennie’s youngest son was having an emotional evening in which he explained that he was upset because he couldn't decide what he wanted to be when he grew up. To that, Jennie explained to her son that he didn’t have to know and that he may even change his mind time and time again when he’s older. She even told him a little secret of her own, which was that most grown-ups don’t even know but that following the path that brings you most joy and trying to be the best human being you can be along the way is really the most important thing to remember. From there, Lee’s story was born. Jennie began writing a little nursery rhyme in the notes app of her phone and realized in turned into a short story that she soon forgot about ever writing.

As time went on, Jennie and her wife watched their teenage daughter go through the process of graduating from high school and looking ahead at what the future held for her. Seeing the amount of pressure that her daughter was placing on herself to think so hard about her future career and education pathways reminded Jennie of that little story she had buried away in the “cloud” (whatever that means).

On a whim Jennie messaged an old friend and asked her if she’d ever illustrated before and as luck would have it Katie had always wanted to try her hand at illustrating a children’s book. Neither of them knew where to start or how to publish a book but they vowed to try and a year later the two not only created “I’ll Grow Up to Be,” but they also learned how to independently publish and send it out to the world. This has been one of their most exciting and personal projects they’ve ever worked on and they hope to do it again in the future.