The beautiful thing about reading is how it brings families together. Right?
happier times, earlier in the weekend
(walla walla sunshine)
This last weekend we were in Walla Walla, which was nice, except that yesterday we had a 5 hour drive with M feeling under the weather and the girls getting antsy. The weather was changing (we actually had rain during parts of the drive) and we were all tired. But we made it safely (always my base-level measurement as to how successful a trip we had). And we ate dinner and did baths, and even finished listening to the 4th CD (out of 6) for the book on "tape" we'd borrowed from the library (On the Shores of Silver Lake, for those of you keeping track). We were all snuggled up like a family on the couch. It was classically Rockwellian. Ish.
And then it was time for reading and bed.
And then it was time for reading and bed.
Did I mention we were all tired after a busy weekend? And a long drive?
I was going to read to K, but she was finishing up a book on her own in an armchair in the living room. I told her twice that she was using up her reading time. M and L were already snuggled in L's bed, reading. I lay down in my own bed to read my own book (last 15 pages of All the Pretty Horses, for those of you…). And finally K came up. She had 4 minutes left of reading time and still hadn't brushed her teeth. She brushed and brought the floss to me and I flossed her and then it was time to read. We had 2 minutes left. She whined. I told her she could have 5 minutes of reading.
me: What are we going to read?
K: I wanted to read Yatimah (the 6th Horse Diaries book, for …).
me: OK. Where it is?
K: Down stairs in my suitcase.
me (sigh): I'll get it.
seconds pass
me (crawling back into bed): OK, where are we? Can you find it?
K: Yeah (paging through). No… (handing it to me)
me (flipping through): Here (starting to read) "So I followed her out into the desert…"
K: No! That's the sandstorm.
me: Right. We haven't read that yet. We were just getting to it.
K: No!! We already read that!
me: No we didn't. It doesn't matter. Tell me where to start.
K: Just go ahead and start there!
me: OK. "… I followed her out into the desert…"
K (slapping the bed covers): This is boring!
me (closing the book and getting up): This isn't working for me. And we're out of time anyway.
K (turning face down in the bed and beginning to sob): You don't like me! You don't love me!!
She jumped up and ran out of the room slamming the door. I went and said good night to L while M followed K downstairs and after they came back up I kissed her and told her I love her to which she said "You don't love me!" And I went downstairs.
She jumped up and ran out of the room slamming the door. I went and said good night to L while M followed K downstairs and after they came back up I kissed her and told her I love her to which she said "You don't love me!" And I went downstairs.
And that's how reading can bring a family closer together. Shouldn't you do more of it with your children?
post script: To top it off, I had to get up and out of the house before K was up this morning, so I didn't have a chance to reconnect with her. There's little worse than going to bed feeling like your link to your loved one is fraying and then getting up in the morning and leaving the house without an opportunity to repair the connection....
post script: To top it off, I had to get up and out of the house before K was up this morning, so I didn't have a chance to reconnect with her. There's little worse than going to bed feeling like your link to your loved one is fraying and then getting up in the morning and leaving the house without an opportunity to repair the connection....
walla walla trees
(whose parents probably didn't read to them)
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