Ode to Books...

I just read a post on my son's blog and it reminded me of some very precious moments with my children. Erik is serving in a Third World country teaching children to read. Today he wrote about about how 18 year old boys were willing to read Green Eggs and Ham because that was the only book available. That helped put some things in perspective for me. First, it helped me to see how incredibly "rich" my children are. We have read hundreds of books over their childhood. They practically owned a library by the time they were in elementary school. Reading was as natural to them as breathing. Delightful times of snuggling, laughing, and sharing adventures canvassed their growing up years. If we read everything we owned and yearned for something new, a simple trip to the library would yield hours worth of new fun and excitement. I had favorites as did my children and I also had some that I would groan when that particular book was chosen. If I am honest, the above mentioned title would have made the "groaning" list. However, that leads me to my second thought. Even if the book chosen was not everyone's favorite, it was still a time of great blessing together. My children had books to read, knew how to read, and we had a family with which to share this experience. I never ceased to be amazed at how easy it is for me to take things for granted. Never again, will I grumble about having to pick up a book, magazine, or newspaper that was left "out of it's place" because one of my children read until the last moment before they had to rush out the door to be on time. Instead, I will give thanks to my Father in Heaven for this amazing privilege and leave it where they can easily find it so they can pick up right where they left off.