The tale behind this latest picture book is based on fact.

Our granddaughter, Lucy McGettigan, 8-years-old at the time of the story, often visited us on weekends.

The memories of those times remain alive and precious to me.

In the case of the story in this book, I had in mind a chore that needed to be accomplished – vacuuming the living room, including tipping the sofa back to clean beneath the furniture. It hadn’t been done for months.

Because of the way the furniture worked, a recliner at each end with spaces open to the floor next to each side of the middle seat cushion, I had a hunch there might be “stuff” on the floor that had fallen over time from the pockets of folks who sat there. But I really didn’t know what.

As I prepared breakfast, I concocted a scheme. Might we turn a household chore into a search for unknown “buried” treasure? An adventure?

As the picture book notes, I ran the idea by Lucy. She imagined a typically exotic activity at first.

When I pointed out the actual nature of the chore/adventure to Lucy she was skeptical and disappointed at first, but she trusted me. In the book, she then used her imagination to embellish the chore into an adventure featuring costumes. This part of the book is beyond what really happened that day and was the suggestion of my children’s book editor, Kellie Hultgren of Minneapolis. But the costume idea would not have been unusual for the imaginative granddaughter that I love. What is fact is that Lucy did latch onto the idea originally because of many good experiences we had shared before.

No one was more surprised than me that “treasure” was indeed to be found on the dust-mite-filled hardwood floor beneath the sofa. Of course, a few of the items were old and unsavory. But some of the findings had value.

Is there significance to a story like this beyond its serving as simply a fun-filled memory? The largely spontaneous activity featured unanticipated surprise. It became something of an educational exchange opportunity for us both at the time too. Namely, it is possible to find “buried” treasure close to home in an unusual, sometimes forgotten place. Have you ever found an earring that’s been missing when you went to vacuum the floor a day or two later? Have you ever known the joy that comes with such a discovery?

We’re turning Lucy’s Loot into an audiobook with our voices to provide memories for family members who come after us.

Lucy and her grandparents have shared many memories over the years. She is now 20 and an amazing young woman.

If you recall an episode like this with a loved one such as a grandchild or child, please leave a comment here. In a few sentences. Maybe the memory might become a book for you!