A Summer of Reading

Sarah cannot see well enough right now to read a book, but that does not mean that we are not reading. Even though we read pretty much every day, I made the decision last week that we are going to be reading a whole lot more than our regular nightly readings this summer. Reading forces us to slow down and relax for a bit, and fortunately all of my children love to get settled around me as I read out loud to them.

Josh is away at a soccer camp this week, but with the exception of that and a couple of family trips this summer we are staying home. This will allow us to get in plenty of reading time which is exactly how I want it.

S-L-O-W-I-N-G down and savoring our days are really what we need right now in these moments of uncertainty surrounding Sarah's vision. Reading as a family is something that can remain a constant even if her vision deteriorates beyond the point of no return. We need as many constants as we can to provide some stability not only for Sarah, but for all of my children.

I am curious to see just how many books we can read this summer. I imagine that it will be quite a few.

We have chosen to read several classics to begin with and also a couple of books just for fun. On our reading table right now are:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

(Photo courtesy of: amazon.com)

The Wizard of Oz

(photo courtesy of: en.wikipedia.org)

The Berenstain Bears and the Dress Code

(Photo courtesy of: betterworldbooks.com)

The Baby-Sitters Club: Jessi's Secret Language

(Photo courtesy of: betterworldbooks.com)

We are reading all of these books simultaneously, which I did not think that the kids would like, but they seem to prefer multiple books going at one time. Elizabeth and I are reading the Berenstain Bear book together. Line by line we trade off each one reading an alternate sentence. She is a pretty good reader, and my goal is to have her close to reading chapter books like the one above by herself. We'll see. I have always been a big advocate of reading. I believe that if you can read - you can learn anything. That is very important to me. Sarah and I started out reading the Baby-sitter books together, and as her vision has come and gone as of late I find myself reading to her more and more instead of alternating pages or chapters. Sarah's Papa (my dad) has bought her each book in the series as we have needed it, and she looks forward to getting each new set from him. It means a lot to her that he takes the time to find them especially since many of these books are now out of print.  Andy and Josh sit in on these story times as well, but Andy in particular spends a ton of time reading in his room when everyone else is off doing other things. He has several of his own books going on on top of what we are reading as a family.

All of the kids love sitting in on the other kids reading time, and I love that they all sit intently listening to the story almost every time begging me to read just one more chapter. Reading with them and to them is as soothing for me as it is for them. Although my heart is very sad right now with everything going on with Sarah, it is these times all snuggled together that make life really special. 

 Thank goodness for new days and new beginnings.