
Reading is a part of our family’s every day life. It not only educates us, but brings us joy as we go on journeys of stretching and growing ourselves, as well as taking ourselves on journeys to far off, sometimes imaginary, places. Reading didn’t come easy for a couple of my kids. Dyslexia can be quite the challenge. In my experience, you are never too far removed from it, yet you can work through it. With one of my kiddos, learning to read took a few years. Some of the times were tearful, but soon after, there would be the joy of a breakthrough moment. We have had many sweet hours, months and years reading together. And now, she is a voracious reader!
Reading with her began first with me reading 100% to her while she listened. She’d listen, draw or play. We progressed to reading to her while she sat beside me. Then, we began taking turns reading a page out loud. Reading together has changed now. We read together by sitting next to each other while reading our own separate book. In June, though, we shared something very special. We each read our own copy of a book recommended to us. I’d had fair warning that the book had a few choice words and a scattering of topics that my 10 year old had not yet been introduced to. With that in mind I started reading. The book was engaging. First came a “word”. I’d have preferred to not have that word before my tender girl’s eyes. Contextually though, it did make sense. And fortunately it gave me an opportunity to see that my girl knew the word was not good. She did not know that “word’s” meaning but she knew that it was one unfamiliar and in the given sentence, it was not likely good. Her making sense of the sentence was such a big win! We talked about the general meaning behind the slang term and why we choose not to speak that way. We want our words to uplift. If she got ahead of me, she’d point out a questionable “word” and we would discuss it. We kept reading, in our home, on floats lounging in the pool, even long-distance using texts or FaceTime to discuss certain topics. Then came a topic where the young girl in the story was in a dramatic situation where she was threatened by a bad man. At this point, I paused and I gave her a quick overview of what she was about to read. This made the upcoming drama not so bad.
We continued to read in this manner til the end of the book. (Don’t tell…but I actually enjoyed this book). We enjoyed sweet conversations about the story, which spurred on many more conversations. My take away from our couple of weeks of reading together was that my daughter was emotionally ready for the storyline. She processed the content more maturely than I expected. Knowing what my kids are reading, especially when they are younger, is so important.
But it doesn’t stop when they move in to their teens and twenties. Over the years, I have read books I probably would not have picked up – all because my teens found interest in them. Hunger Games was a hit years back. I was challenged by the topic, as a Mom, and having different life experiences than my kids, but I enjoyed reading and discussing them with my kids. A few years back, I enjoyed the book, Redeeming Love after one of my adult daughters recommended it. When it came out as a movie, we were quick to go see it. The movie had a lot of controversial reviews, yet knowing the book, and even more…knowing the content it was pulling from, we had a lot of great talks afterwards.
So, what was my 10 years old’s take-away from the Front Desk? She was reminded how blessed we are (again, that’s a win!). She realized that NOT everyone has what we consider the simple things – clothes we want to wear, food we enjoy eating, and a home to feel safe in. She even related this observation to a previous conversation we had a few months prior when a dear friend of mine, gently and graciously set me straight that I needed to be grateful for what I have.
Kids do grow so very fast. When I began my journey of mothering – which never ends – I had a poster that said, “Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.” It truly does. From far off places to real life lessons…Oh, the places my girl with go.