It's Friday, so that means there are many great posts here at Fatherhood Friday on DadBolgs. Click either link for a journey to some great blogs.
When I think of books and fatherhood some images come immediately to mind.
There was the time my dad gave me The Velveteen Rabbit and inside the cover he had even written an inscription. This was as shocking as anything in my almost 5 years of experience. My father actually wrote in a book - for me. In the evenings we would sit in the living room and he would read me that story. A picture book with chapters, very grown-up for a girl who had not even begun her elementary school career.
Much later there were the times the same man would insist I stop reading and spend some time in the sun. Obviously pre skin-cancer worry days. Having nothing against the sun, I would gladly drag my reading materials out to the lake and read there.
The second inscribed book from my father came at my confirmation. It was the Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, bound in leather with gold-leaf edges. It was a mark of my "growing-up."
These are books I still have today and cherish. I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories many times, but they are a comforting friend that can ease me to sleep after a stress-filled day. I have shared the story of a much loved rabbit with my own children, even sharing the picture I drew of my dad after his inscription.
Now, I listen to my husband read to my children. Listening to them laugh along with Dr Seuss and worry about Wilbur's fate are new reminders of the impact a parent and a good story can have on a child.
I can see you reading with your dad. How touching! I can see your children with your husband and that too is a wonderful thing. Isn't it great that you still love the Sherlock Holmes' stories and can still find comfort in them?
ReplyDeleteI love reading and my children are avid readers. Sometimes I miss a small child on my lap sharing a book.
I take every opportunity to read to my kids. Whenever I ask them what they want to do on the weekend, their answer is always, "Let's go to Barnes and Noble."
ReplyDelete~surprised mom: It is great to have a small child on your lap - makes me appreciate the tiny bit of time I have left for that with Youngest.
ReplyDelete~mocha dad: It is great to have kids that love to read. There are nights I almost have to pry them from their hands.
hmmm maybe since i didn't have a dad to read to me, that's why i started reading so young lol. i still remember one of my first books that i read. it was something like "Little Bunny Follows His Nose" it was a scratch & sniff book and had actual paragraphs, not just short little sentences.
ReplyDelete