Spawning Readers

I remember our first television, a huge wooden cabinet with doors, that when opened revealed a tiny little screen. The first show I remember watching on it was Captain Kangaroo, and I loved it. Somewhere around first or second grade our family got a more “modern” television. It had a bigger screen and sat on a television stand; though still black and white, I loved watching all my favorite shows on that one too. My father called the television “the idiot box”. He had rules about television watching, and he enforced them.

(This is my dad with me (the glasses weren't mine) )

Probably the rule I remember most was, if my father felt like television viewing was taking away too much time from reading, then the T.V. was unplugged and rolled into the closet. Reading was very important in our house. Some of the most special moments in our family were the times my father read aloud to us, usually on Sunday afternoons. We covered lots of classic tales and I look back fondly on those memories of our family. My sisters and I read constantly. We saw our parents reading. We had a good library in our home and we also frequented the public library. Eventually one of my sisters became a librarian and two of us have tried our hand at writing.

Bob and I both read aloud to our daughters each night when they were growing up. Even into the teen years we carried on the tradition of reading together after dinner. When the girls were little they loved the funny voices their dad used for the various characters in their stories, I think he was their favorite bedtime read-aloud person. As they got older, we read biographies about inspirational people, or faith-based stories that sparked good discussions about our own spirituality. Just like the generation before, we made good memories and instilled in our girls the importance of reading, and added another author to the family when our oldest daughter added writing to her love of reading.

Now that we have grandchildren, I am blessed to read aloud to them. I love the times when I have a little one—or two or three—snuggled up around me, lost in the words and the pictures. It still makes me smile when I finish a story and a little voice immediately says, “Read it again, Grammie!” I love knowing that the passion for and importance of reading is being passed on to yet another generation.

On a personal level, I continue to love a good book. I’m blessed to be part of a wonderful, multi-generational book club that has been meeting for over 20 years. Each month we enjoy discussing our latest mystery, adventure story, biography, classic work, or novel. It’s especially fun when the meeting includes foods that complement the story, or participants dressing to match an interesting character. It has been extra special to have my mother (when she was still living), and now my sisters and daughters as a part of this book-loving group. The insights from the different generations delight me and enhance and enrich my reading experiences.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with our one-year-old granddaughter. She already loves her book basket and spends considerable time choosing different books and turning the pages. Our older grandchildren also love to read; Taylor, our ten-year-old, can usually be found curled up with her Kindle when we arrive at their house for a visit. As my parents told me, and I’ve told my children and grandchildren, if you can read, you can do anything. So, I will continue to put out special books at the holidays for the children to read, find time for reading aloud to my grandchildren, and to gift books and gift cards for book buying on birthdays and other special occasions. Although I didn’t always think so at the time, pulling the plug on the television was the right thing to do; it has, is and hopefully will continue to spawn generations of book lovers. Thanks Dad.