The Love of Reading.....

I love to read. I have always loved to read. I give all the credit for my book loving to my parents. They both have been avid readers as far back as I can remember. Library trips were weekly events. My dad used to read me nursery rhymes to get me to sleep. He has told me that sometimes he'd read for hours before I'd nod off. (I can still recite most every rhyme from memory). When I was old enough to read myself I would read by flashlight until I could no longer keep my eyes open. I hid my favorite books under the boards of the bunk bed, and secretly stashed my flashlight alongside them so they could easily be found when the lights were out and the door shut. At our family reunion this summer every single one of my siblings and both parents were engrossed in a book. If someone was missing we knew they had found a corner to hole up in to finish the last chapter or two in uninterrupted silence. It wasn't until I was married that I discovered not every family reads as much as mine. Shawn reads textbooks, not novels. He has listened to a few novels on cd while driving long distances, and has enjoyed them. He simply can't find the time amidst all the anesthesia journals to pick up the latest John Grisham. He does, however, know of the importance of reading to the kids. We both have read to the kids from birth on. Kennedy is now reading and she loves to read to anyone who will listen. It's so much fun as a mother to witness your two kids snuggled up on the couch engrossed in a book. Ethan started reading books at night last year. He was so into reading I bought him a headlamp so he could read in bed. He has already devoured many novel series. He's currently working on Animorphs. Sometimes he'll wander out of his room around 9:30 or so to get a drink and when I inquire about the time he'll say he was so caught up in his book he needed to finish or he'd never be able to sleep. To me, reading is the best excuse for a late night.