Books and Reading

Chloe had her first soccer practice the other night and a common conversation that occurs when we meet new people goes something like this:

Them: Where do your kids go to school?
Me: We homeschool
Them: Wow, I don't think I could ever do that! (then insert reason)
Me: (smile and nod, because I don't really know an appropriate response) Where do your kids go to school?

I don't know why people choose to validate their decisions, because that is why there are many choices in the world, but I digress.

This conversation went further than the above and the woman added, "I don't even have time to read my child a book much less homeschool her". I know I probably looked like a deer in the headlights at this point (with a smile and a nod). She said at night her child asks to read a book and she tells her to choose a book and just look at the pictures and make up a story, because she is too tired to read to her. Another mom that was sitting there chimed in and agreed.

I get it, I really do. Mommies work hard! If you work outside the home or not, you are a hard working woman. It is one of the biggest responsibilities we'll ever encounter. We are pulled in a million different directions, wear many hats, have many stresses, questions ourselves daily, ridden with Mommy guilt, and yet we love this job and tearfully dread the day our kids will move out!

But, I couldn't help but pause when this lady said this. She didn't read to her child regularly? That is just so hard for me to wrap my simple mind around. I'm the crazy lady that buys baby/children's books for Baby showers, because those are items that are saved, passed down, and enjoyed for years. You can go over any Grandma's house and they still have those treasured items packed away for the next generations to enjoy and they get to read them all over again with grandkids cuddled up in their laps.

My kids have always had books and it has absolutely nothing to do with homeschooling or not. It was already a big part of our lives. I have visited the library with my children since they could toddle. We've always hunkered down at some point during the evening and enjoyed a good book all snuggled up together. I love it when my kids say, "just one more chapter, I want to know what happens next!" These are where some memories are made!

Are we so busy these days, that we can't make time for these simple pleasures? My niece who teaches Kindergarten made a comment that some of her students didn't fill in their weekly reading log. The reason? They didn't have time. 5-10 minutes is really all the "time" you need sometimes though. Even in this busy world where time is a commodity, can you not find 5 minutes to reconnect and enjoy a story with your child?

I sometimes think I was born in the wrong generation. I'll exit off my soapbox now and leave this rant, and continue to read to my children and produce the future generation of nerds.

By the way, now that my kids are older, I catch them reading to each other. Now that is what warms my heart even more:-)