I Need to Read More...

Growing up I loved to read.  My sister and I participated in the Book It program (I know I'm totally dating myself right now; I feel old.).  Nothing sparks wanting to read like free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut!  I also enjoyed curling up in the evening with my collection of Baby-sitters Club Super Special editions and anything by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume.  

Gold stars and everything

What young girl didn't love these books?!

Then something happened.  I believe my love of reading began to diminish in late junior high.  Junior high was when it was book report time (yes, we had to write book reports in elementary school, but a one-page paper with the accompanying shadow box doesn't count); I hated book reports.  I also hated being told to read books that didn't interest me.  So you can imagine why I dropped extracurricular reading all together when I got to high school and took AP Language.  I know some of you may be gasping right now, but I had other things that gave me much more joy than reading Grapes of Wrath (I'm pretty sure I just heard gasps over the ether after that statement).  I will admit right now to the world that I never read Hamlet.  There! I said it!  Believe me, I tried; I just couldn't get through the play without nodding off.  I also admit to watching Mel Gibson, so that I might pass the exam that was the next day (I don't think I failed, but it wasn't my best grade).  Now, all this negative talk doesn't mean I hated every book I was made to read.  I loved books like To Kill a Mockingbird and Fahrenheit 451.  

After high school (1999) I may have read a total of five books before I met my husband (2005).  For those that know Garrett know that he's a ravenous reader.  He wrote book reports for fun in school, people!  Anyway, after hearing about my lack of reading, Garrett made a must read list of books for me.  Because I love him, and because I want to be a well rounded person, I agreed to read said books.  Before you start praising me for being so awesome, I must tell you this list was made in maybe 2008 and I've read probably two books on the list.  I know!  I'm a reading slacker!  HOWEVER, one of the books that I did read, Ender's Game (so good! you must read it),  spurred me on to read so many other books.  Yes, these books weren't on my Garrett list, but I was enjoying reading again.

The book that got me reading again. I was skeptical about Ender's Game
since it's science fiction, but I'm glad I pressed on.  It's fantastic. I've now read the entire series.

All was right with me and books until I had children.  For some reason when you have your first child, whether you choose to stay at home or go back to work, you feel like you have absolutely no time to do anything.  I was lucky if I remembered to take a shower (don't judge me).  Because of the perceived lack of free time, reading for enjoyment took a backseat for me, and I'm talking deep in darkest corner of the trunk back seat.  SO, when I had my second baby, I realized that I had actually had a glorious amount of free time with Ben.  Now I truly understand what it means to not have any time to myself.  It's all about perspective, and because I didn't make reading a priority before (excluding my quiet times, but even those were often scattered), why would it be a priority now.

Now that Olivia is getting older (she'll be one in May, I can't believe it!), I'm starting to ask myself questions like, "what would I like to change about myself or grown in," "want kind of person do I want to be for myself and my family," and "what kind of things am I interested in that don't involve my children?"  I knew the answers to several of these questions before I had kids, but as many of you moms have experienced, a little piece of who you are fades or goes away when you have kids and then you have to rediscover yourself once they start getting older.

This brings me to one thing that I'd like to grown in, reading.  I would like to dedicate some of my time to putting my nose in a book, any book would do! (The Ladybug Girl doesn't count, but I think you know what I mean).  This will take some serious discipline for me, and I'm talking going on a diet kind of serious discipline.  I love to zone out on Hulu, Pinterest, or YouTube clips of the Ellen Show, but instead I must make a choice to put down my proverbial candy bar that is my iPad and pick up Pride and Prejudice.  I CAN DO IT! I WILL TRIUMPH! (see what I did there... my French Kiss moment, linked clip included for your viewing pleasure).

I will let you all know how I'm doing on this journey, failure and successes.  I'm also up for any book suggestions!  Maybe I'll dig up my Garrett list and share it for anyone else that's in a no reading funk.    

Good luck to all of us!