Medicine for the Soul

I love to read and always have, and even though I had three sisters and my family wasn’t well off by any means, my mother always made sure there were books in the house. Not only would we get books as gifts, we each had a library card at a pretty young age, and we continually added to our own supply every time the Scholastic Book Orders came out. My grandmother also taught us the value of books, and she never kept any on a shelf we couldn’t reach.

This approach to books and reading sort of went against the times. I am from the television generation where wholesome family entertainment each evening was sitting together in front of the television set, and we even had “TV” trays we could set up just so we wouldn’t miss our favorite shows. It was also the dawn of children’s television programming and parents didn’t think twice about plunking their children down in front of the tube for hours on end to watch the likes of Mister Rogers or Sesame Street-it was educational, so something should rub off…

But my mother would limit our time in front of the set (even though it would certainly have been easier for her)-we were often encouraged to read instead, and I am convinced that this helped me perform better in school, and made me want to be a life long learner. This love of the written word is exactly what I want to pass on to my own children, and I hope I have succeeded.

I started reading to my kids when they were still babies (around 5-6 months old) because I read study after study that touted the benefits of starting this early-just 15 minutes of reading each night encourages speech and language development, creates a love of reading, and affects their overall performance in school. Some studies say the earlier the better and here are some more facts from the Literacy Connections web site:

• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2000 found that "87% of fourth graders who loved to read on their own scored proficient on the exam (those who read very little performed at the Basic level)." And the students performing highest read for fun every day.
  
  
• This U.S. Department of Education: students read to "at least three times a week by a family member, were twice as likely to score in the top 25%."
  
  
• Young kids read to throughout the day did better in kindergarten.
  
  
• Now take a look at some scary reports 
  
  
  • "The average kindergartner has watched 5000 hours of television" (the report states that this is longer than it takes to earn a Bachelor’s Degree!)  I also read a while back that "screen time"-this includes TV, computer, and hand held games-should be no more than 1 hour of your child's day, or no more than 7 hours a week...
    
    
  • "80% of college professors state that freshman cannot read well enough to do college level work."
    
    
  • US Department of Education-"a functionally illiterate adult earns 42% less than a high school graduate."
    
    
  • It is also critical that kids read well by the third grade-a new study reports that children who are not proficient readers by grade three have a much greater chance of dropping out of high school...
    

The thing is, reading to your children isn’t hard to start, and even though most nights I want to just plop down on the couch and veg (you know, after the homework checks, dinner, and running around), reading with the kids turns out to be my favorite time in the evening. We curl up in one of the kid’s beds or on the living room sofa, talk about what’s happening to the characters, and lose ourselves in the story of the moment (generally it’s a chapter book that we continue to read throughout the week). This is one of the best ways I know to relax and connect with my kids.

I was actually planning on reviewing the books I’m reading with my kids (we are switching between two stories lately) and what I’m currently reading, but I guess I sort of went off topic. However, I will make a point to share these in a future post and leave you with this thought:

"You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be -
I had a mother who read to me."
~Strickland Gillilan
Happy reading everybody!

Summers gone...

It’s been a whirlwind of activity over here the past couple weeks. We took a trip back home for my in-laws golden wedding anniversary celebration, and believe me when I say it is no small feat getting everyone together-three brothers and a sister and their spouses, and 14 kids ages 7 to 21. We also had an impromptu visit from my brother-in-law and a niece and nephew the next weekend, and we have been running around gathering the gear for school, all while trying to squeeze some special times with the kids before school starts tomorrow. But as I sit here waiting for my daughter to get home from practice, my son is in bed (although he found another excuse to get out of bed again), I am both pensive and sad.

Another school year is about to start, which means the summer is over, and as usual I never get to do all the things I wanted to do with my kids for some reason or other. I have such good intentions, but in June it always looks as if there is so much time ahead, so the fun can wait another day because the laundry needs done or we need to get groceries-you name it, there is always something that needs attending to that takes time away from the people who need your attention the most, but I never realize this until the time has run out.

So here I sit, typing and hoping that my kids enjoyed their summer vacation and their time spent with me. I know it was a little rough the last couple weeks in July, but when I look back at this summer I still smile because there really were a lot of good times. I’m just hoping that the good will outweigh the bad when my kids look back…

Just 5 little questions

I had quite a few computer woes the first half of the day, and after spending nearly two hours getting my Internet connection back up (the Internet didn’t recognize the IP address of my router), I wasn’t in the best mood to write today’s post. I changed my mind only after reading Stacey’s answers to this 5 Question Friday Meme, so I linked up with Mama M over at My Little Life and answered them too.

1. Do you sing out loud in the car when you’re driving?
Ok, I may sing to a tune or two but if I croon a little too loud for a little too long, I hear from the critics riding in the back. Now when I'm by myself and a good song comes on, I keep the beat by bobbing my head up and down and pounding the steering wheel, and then I let it all out.

 

2. What would you never be caught doing?

I have two answers for this question: wearing short shorts and drinking from someone else’s glass. Why no short shorts? When you have chicken legs and knobby knees, well you get the picture. And everyone knows that when you take a drink, a bit of your guzzle always escapes your mouth and goes back down into the glass-I don’t ever want to swallow someone else’s spit. Case closed.

3. Will you go #2 in a public restroom?
I won’t even go #1 in a public restroom unless it’s an emergency, and then I only do so if the seat is completely covered by a nest of toilet paper.

4. Have you ever broken a bone?
You name it and I have broken it, but just about every break but one happened due to a car accident when I was a senior in college. I was a camp counselor for the summer up in the Pocono Mountains, and on our night off, we were hit head on by a van driving down the wrong side of the road. (The driver of the van was European and forgot about driving on the right side…) I broke my left wrist and forearm, my right femur (thigh), my right tibia (shin), right fibula (back of the leg), my right ankle in two places, and my nose. (I used to have a bump in the bridge of my nose, but I got a “free” nose job thanks to this accident.)

I broke my right ankle once again when I was still a newlywed. I tried to shoo our cat down the basement steps-she moved out of my way, and down the stairs I flew. My husband was taking a shower at the time and he was stark naked when he came down to see why I was screaming. I still laugh when I think about what he said as I lay on that cold, basement floor, “Just stay where you are. I will be back in a minute.” Um, I didn’t go anywhere-he went back upstairs to dry off and put clothes on.

5. Do you prefer cooking or baking?
I like to cook some dishes but only tried and true recipes from Better Homes and Gardens because these usually turn out fine. With baking I have to be in the mood, like when it’s cold outside and there is nothing to do except hunker down at home. This is when the baking bug strikes me, and I usually try to get my kids involved because then they aren’t fighting with each other…

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Firendship and Tunes

I wanted to side step today and talk about something that is near and dear to my heart, and that is all of you. See, I live far away from family and all the friends I grew up with, and many of the friends I have now are through work, and you know what most work friends tend to talk about when they are together… Plus with work friends I am never sure what to share and what to hold back because once again these are work friends, and things could get sticky if you reveal a side of yourself and you cease to be friends!

My post tonight is for a couple reasons-I first want to thank all of you for finding joy in my joy, “getting” my sense of humor, and listening without judgment, and I truly hope I have entertained you in some way. I am also feeling pretty mixed emotionally this evening, and what better way to get mellow than with a song or too, right? So I am giving you a couple Tuesday Tunes tonight to calm you down from a couple old guys (yes, they are looking old I’m afraid) who are the kings of mellow. Here are Simon & Garfunkel with “The Sound of Silence”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Goodnight everybody!

Trying to measure up...

I’m pretty stressed right now-midterm tests and quarter grades all have to be finalized by Wednesday, my son said someone squirted hand sanitizer in his eye as he was getting up to get off the bus today (I think it was just on his face and he rubbed it into his eye but we did a rinse just in case, and I’m peeved!), I got my daughter upset about the bus situation by insinuating that she doesn’t look out for her younger brother, we had to rush off to take the dog to his vet appointment, I had to hurry back to get dinner started(my daughter had practice at 6:30), and once again I am worried that I am not good enough at something I endeavor to be great at.

For the most part I am a positive person, and I try to be a positive force for my friends and family, but when it comes to my talents, I am a “jack of all trades”-good at many things but great at none. I enjoy art and drawing but I am not an artist; I love music and used to play guitar but I’m no musician; I went back to school for computer science when an English teaching position didn’t open up, and though I know much more than my students and the average Joe, I am not a master computer programmer. Now this post is really starting to depress me, but I’m also a realist. What bothers me the most about all this though is the fact that I have spent my entire life thus far trying to prove to myself that it’s in me to be great, that this greatness is just around the corner-it’s just not time yet. And I would achieve this greatness with my "pen."

You see my first love has always been writing, in fact, writing to me is a cleansing experience. It’s when I can put words to feelings and emotions but I never have to utter a sound. Sometimes it’s a grueling process, because once I start writing, I can’t stop until I’m finished-it may be physically and mentally exhausting but I have to complete the piece. My teachers in grade school and high school, and my professors in college, all encouraged me, and I knew I was good, but is that good enough?

I have tested this “good but not great” theory by participating in sporadic writing contests in high school, college, and over the years, but I have never made the cut. I work and rework a project until I think it’s perfect, and then as I await the results, I start to agonize over every little detail. All is lost if I can compare it to someone else’s entry because I read and reread that once perfect work until in my eyes it is seriously flawed and a waste of time and energy.

I recently entered yet another writing contest as you can tell by my last post, but what started out being enjoyable, has now left me feeling anxious and unfulfilled.(I just didn't have it in me to post, and I am sorry I have neglected all of you this past week...) My husband says that he doesn’t believe in contests, especially those online because who’s to say if anyone wins. He says my entering should all be in fun, and he doesn’t understand why I stress myself about things like this. And I don’t really have a good answer for him-I just keep pointing to that never-ending desire for greatness, because that’s what makes me do the things I do.

If any of you do this to yourselves when it comes to your writing, I would love to hear that I am not alone on this one. As for me, I can hear a slice of cheesecake calling my name (why did we have to buy that cheesecake sampler?), so I am off to the kitchen for some healing-or better yet, maybe I’ll just get a glass of water. It’s definitely not the same, but my inner voice is telling me that I would regret my rendezvous with Mr. cheesecake in the morning-sigh…

Sunday Sage'ness

A sage is someone, according to Webster, “wise through reflection and experience,” so I want to share my sage ness with you by rambling on about my personal beliefs, and what I understand, have come to understand, or don’t understand about my life-see if you can relate to any of these.

Dirty clothes belong in the laundry hamper, not on the bed, or worse under the bed-it’s not going to get clean if it stays in these places.

The way things go into the laundry bin is the way they come out of the dryer with the exception of used kleenex- that doensn't belong in either place.

And continuing with laundry (do you see a pattern developing?), if I’m going to lug your things to the washer, sort them, treat them for stains, wash them, dry them, lug them back upstairs, and then fold them, the least you can do is put them away.

After years of denial I am ready to face the facts-I am turning into my mother and it is both a blessing and a curse all rolled into one.

Designate a spot for everything and put things back when you are through with them-how am I supposed to know where you took your shoes off last-I am not your feet…

And on that same note (this is one for me), no one has moved your things-they are right where you left them last, waiting for you to remember where.

If everyone can reach the light switch, why am I the only one who can turn the light off?

Don’t do things in “extremes”-the key to health and happiness lies in doing things in moderation.

I am not paranoid-someone is stealing my socks because I have fewer pairs after I do whites than I do before.

It may be your room and you prefer to live in squalor, but it is my house, and your room is a reflection on me, so clean it up.

Treat others the way you would want to be treated, and this includes your mother and father.

And here is my personal belief to go along with September Mom’s post about Sunday Citar: If you can visualize it happening, be it a small task or lifetime dream, and you want it bad enough, you can make it a reality-failure is for those who never try.

Be sure to check out my Friday post dealing with organization (or the lack of it). If you have trouble keeping it all together, know that you are not alone, and come on over for some laughs. Goodnight everybody!