For as long as I could remember I always had at least one book on the go. Family stories explain that I began to read at the age of two years old. I would read my younger sister story books off of memory.
When I began to get an allowance I would beg my parents to go to the local bookstore, Dog-Eared Books. I would drain my money to the last dime. I ate books. When my mom got ill I relied on books even more. Judy Blume and Francine Pascal books were friends. Instead of running around the playground I would be sitting off to the side deep into a book. When we ate out as a family I would bring a book to read.
When my mom died, I flew through books. It was my escape from a dark and confusing reality. When I went to junior high I loved that there was reading time after every lunch break. The school and public library staff knew me by first name. They would recommend books frequently.
Becoming an adult meant that I had less time to read, but I still always had at least one or five on my night stand to be dived into late at night. When I commuted into Vancouver it was perfect reading time.
Years later I became pregnant with our first child. Immediately we began to read to our child. My husband would read to my belly every night. When she was born it broke my husband out of his not-reading comfort zone reading to her daily. We lived near a huge book store. it was my motivation to get out the door to walk my baby in the stroller. We did the same habits of reading when baby number two arrived.
I have passed on my love of reading to both my daughters now. Bookstore mommy dates happen a lot. We rarely leave without one book for all of us. Some favorites are now getting worn. I think seeing a dog-eared book is a compliment to the author. It is a sign of love.
One thing that changed when motherhood arrived is that ‘my space’ shrank. My bookshelves shrunk. I used to keep all my books. Sadly I could only keep the favorites. The kids took over the family bookshelf.
I dove into the world of e-reading with a vengeance. I could read on my smartphone while holding a sleeping baby. Or when the e-readers came to town I slipped one into the diaper bag. You could hold loads of books into the slim devices. I found i read even more on them. I always upgrade when they come out with the latest version. My kids were big car nappers. If I tried to get them out of the car they would wake. So I would slide into a drive through to grab a coffee and park. Sipping a hot coffee while reading was my quiet time.
We used to watch a lot of movies before kids. That has changed. But reading is something we can enjoy together. Our first baby now reads to her sister and us. I can share some of the books on my e-reader with my girls now. I will be so proud if a reading addiction is what they inherit from me.
Danielle Christopher 