There Are Books,

There Are Novels By My Bed...

I am a reader. As early as I can remember all I wanted was to be able to decipher the meaning of words. I even remember sitting up one night with my (much) older sister's 10th grade required reading novel, struggling to "read" just one page - really all I was doing was naming each and every letter, one at a time. I was desperate to have this coveted skill that everyone except me seemed to possess. When at long last the synapses were making the proper connections, and the letters turned into words, and the words into sentences, there was no stopping me. I saw Jane. I saw Dick and I saw Sally, and I saw them run! I was reading several grade levels ahead in no time. I would read anything and everything, street signs and the backs of shampoo bottles. As an adolescent I was often getting yelled at to shut out the light and put away the books already! I would spend my entire summer holed up in the public library (truly, I am not a sun lover), my (much) older sister having to come and drag me home for meals. In one summer alone I read almost every Judy Blume novel! Actually, I remember the first time I ever heard the word "novel", I knew it had to do with books, and if D. Kelly was reading one I certainly could too!

Nowadays, although "voracious" is one of my very favorite words (what, you don't have a collection of favorite words? I bet you do...), it's not a perfect description of my reading habit. I will say that I probably read more adult content (no, not, smut - get your head out of the gutter) than your average suburban mother with 4 kids under seven. I started a book club with some friends, and in addition to creating 2 pretty neat male humans, I count that as one of my proudest accomplishments of the last two years. I also have a few magazine subscriptions, and let us not forget my blog habit. Reading is so much a part of me, I can't have down time without having something, anything (even a shampoo bottle) handy to read at all times.

One of the things about reading that I love so much, in addition to the fact that a good book can transport me to another place and time altogether, is that by reading I can learn about absolutely anything I want! There is nothing that can hold me back so long as I can get my hands on a book! I have discussed with my husband my desire that more than anything else, I want my children to love to read! If they like soccer? Okay. Art? Great. Math? Fabulous. Reading though, means that they are limitless! Some people wait in anticipation of babies first steps, or riding a bike without training wheels, for me - when First Son read the word "turquoise" the other night I almost cried with joy!

I read to my children, but I have always felt that it is equally if not more important for them to see me reading for my own purposes. It sends the message that reading is important. I mean, if Mom is taking time to do it it must be, right? Lead by example I figure. I do most of my reading before going to sleep, or on a lazy Saturday morning. At any given time, there is a stack of books by my bed. We also have a pretty impressive (at least I think so) collection of children's books, which for reasons of space and convenience, is stored in Curly's room. Most nights she falls asleep with books in her bed. She is four years old and "reads" herself to sleep. It makes my heart swell to see her learning to love books the way I do. I am sure it won't be long until the words are jumping off the page and her mind is running off with the stories. For now I am sure she is mostly looking at pictures and imagining the meanings of the words. She reminds me of me though.

The other night I found her fast asleep with my copy of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen tucked under her arm and I thought to myself, hmmm..I wonder what she thinks about the midget?? I can't wait until the day when my children and I sit around discussing books, any more than Hubby can't wait to discuss quantum physics. I win though - in order to discuss the physics, they're probably going to have to read about it!