Grammy-award winning singer, Kelly Rowland has recently added author to her long list of amazing accolades. The 41-year-old mother of two recently sat down with People Magazine to talk about the inspiration for penning her new book, Always with You, Always with Me. And of course, it is the sweetest thing that you will read today.
Always with You, Always with Me, which Rowland co-wrote with Jessica McCay, got its origins from a sweet gesture, that many moms tend to do. Rowland left special notes in her seven-year-old son Titan’s lunchbox and around their home.
“It would let him know how many days I had left on the trip,” Rowland, said in her interview with the news outlet about the notes she left for her son, “So it was like, ‘I have five more days or I’ll see you in a week and a half or three more days left, babe. Have the best day at school. I love you with all my heart.'”
That sweet gesture morphed into something for everyone to enjoy, Always with You, Always with Me. The picture book, which is illustrated by Fanny Liem, follows a mom who has to travel to different construction sites for work, but stays connected to her son through a rhyme they share:
Always with you,
Always with me,
Mommy and child
Together we’ll be.
Rowland noted in her interview that the chorus of the book was inspired by one of her own favorite kids’ books growing up, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.
Rowland noted that it was “incredibly” important to her to feature Black characters as she didn’t grow up with books with characters that looked like her or her mother.
“Seeing a Black woman on a construction site and creating this world that she makes for others to enjoy, is just incredibly powerful,” the first-time author said. “Because kids can think bigger and broader when it comes to occupation.”
Rowland hopes that this project brings working parents and their little ones a bit closer together. “Even though you say you miss them, it’s the action behind it that I think that children really appreciate, whether it’s a bracelet or something that you share between you that strengthens and fortifies the relationship. And that’s what makes it stronger and sweeter of a bond.”
Rowland shares Titan and 15-month-old Noah with her husband Tim Weatherspoon. Always with You, Always with Me is now available on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
