waiting for the day

From the time I fell deeply in love with books, I have eagerly awaited the day when I would be able to read the stories I loved to my own children. Over the last month, nightly chapter reading has begun and, unlike many other long-anticipated pleasures that end up being so much less exciting than I imagined, reading novels aloud to my son is everything I dreamed it would be. Dare I say, that half hour before bedtime has become my favorite time of the day.

It began a little shakily as we were recommended Little House in the Big Woods as a book to begin with, and to say Liam was fidgeting while we read would be a gross understatement. About two pages into chapter three, as Wilder was going on at great lengths about the intricacies of smoking meat, I stopped and asked Liam, who was standing on his head on the couch, "Do you like this?"

"Borrring," he said flatly.

I was a little dashed, although I had to agree. Not the book I thought it was.

Remembering The Littles vaguely from my childhood, I picked up one from this series next. A bit better. We made it through, at least, but still pretty uninspiring.

Lest I lose my willing listener altogether, I decided we needed a solid classic. A book beautifully written with a story to match. I chose Charlotte's Web. It's a hit; we both eagerly anticipate it every night. Even poor little catatonic pneumonia boy (as Liam has been these last few nights) has requested his chapter before crashing.

Books buoyed me as a child. They took me away from troubles and helped me imagine the beauty and happiness I couldn't find in my own surroundings. Mostly they helped me find adventure in a world that I could readily enter, any time - my mind.

Now I love hearing the words read aloud, making up voices for the characters, adding just the right amount of drama. I guess you could say I love the sound of my own voice. But it's so much more than that. Getting lost in the words on the page with a willing and eager traveling companion who rests his head on my shoulder and makes funny and insightful little comments - this is joy. I have waited nearly 30 years for this day. It is all I imagined it would be.