Reading

When I was young, I loved to read. I mean, LOVED. I devoured books and couldn't wait to read the next word...sentence...or chapter. My Mom says she would have to call me repeatedly to dinner, only to hear me call back "In a minute"...."Right after this chapter"...or "Alright already!!!" When I think back to my childhood, I have many clear memories of my younger self with my nose in a book on the yellow couch in Coral Springs. It was a chunk of time when I could just lose myself in the worlds of characters, settings, plots, twists, suspense, humor, and sadness. I loved it. I read constantly. My vocabulary and creativity flourished. I was successful in school and on standardized tests, and I credit all of this to reading. A good book is like a potent vitamin for the brain, and a warm hug for the soul, all packaged in a stack of bound pages.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my passion for reading. This has always made me feel sad and a little disappointed in myself. Like I wasn't being true to that young girl who loved books so much. Where did she go?

Maybe it happened in college when I was required to read volumes of words to memorize and regurgitate on a test. Perhaps it happened because I became more preoccupied with socializing and partying. Probably both.

Then marriage and kids came...and POOF, there was a new excuse...I'm simply too BUSY. I would think, "I have a toddler and a newborn for God's sake...how can I find time to read??" Later it was, "I have a school aged child and a pre-schooler...how could I possibly??"

Now, there are soccer, golf, and baseball schedules...playdates, projects, and homework. A hotbed of possible excuses.

But...NO MORE. No more excuses.

I have missed reading. I miss getting lost in the pages. I miss losing track of time because I am so entranced.

Guilt-ridden parent confession coming up...
Over the past couple of years, each of my kids have, more than once, made this statement to me...

...And these are the dreaded words that every parent (especially one who is also a teacher and preaches the importance of reading to her students and parents daily) NEVER wants to hear:

"Mom, I don't really LIKE to read." (GASP)

or...even worse...

"MOM, I HATE READING!!" (shouted in disgust, stomping off to their room, after I had just directed them to read).

Yikes. UGH.

Then I would reassuringly retort, "When I was your age, I used to LOVE to read."

To which they would reply: "Well...you don't read NOW".

OUCH.

Mom is a hypocrite. Kiss of death.

So...in our household, we are slowly bringing reading books back into our lives.

It began when Jordan came home this year with the Alex Rider books, a series his reading teacher had introduced to him. He LOVED these books and would read them whenever he could.

I saw him reading one night. Impressed that he was doing his homework (without a hint of nagging from me), I asked, "Oh, do you need to read some chapters tonight for school?"

"No, I just want to. This is a really good book."

WHAT THE!!!!!!!!!


Here was the sign.
It might as well have been a blaring siren or a club to my head:
You dumbass hypocrite Mom, you had better make something out of this.


So I turned off the TV, scrambled to dig out a book I had tried unsuccessfully to begin months ago, and carefully curled up under his comforter, on the other side of the couch. We read together in silence. I listened to him turn the pages and stole peeks at his eyes as he read. They were focused and intent on every word. I was so excited that he was "catching the bug". I"m not sure how much I absorbed from what I was reading...I was just happy for him at that moment. He was reading, and he was LOVING it.

Katie would wander by periodically and look at us curiously, like, "what the F are they doing?" (That girl SOOO talks with her face.) I then instructed Katie to read with us...for some reason, she complied...and she didn't even roll her eyes.

"Reading Time" was born.

Reading Time is silent. Reading Time is all of us reading in the same room. In silence. Only the sound of pages turning can be heard. It is peaceful. It is quiet. No one speaks. (did I mention it is quiet??) Jamie has joined in the cause. Reading Time is precious. It is a time to relax, unwind, and get lost in the pages of your own book, while remaining even more connected to each other.

I love it. I think the kids love it, too.

We went to the bookstore the other night...and found some new gems to read...and so instead of beginning my new book, I started snapping away with the camera, and snuck these pictures of Reading Time...before they admonished me for "NOT reading during READING TIME".

Whoops...off to my book!!!