Happy Birthday To My Mom The Bookworm

  My mom loved to read and read all her life.  As a kid, she always loved to read.  She would read up in her room way passed her bedtime.  One of her goals was to read all the fiction books in the library.  She started with the authors whose names began with A.  Her birthday was October 29 and I always think of her more that day than usual.  I still miss her very much and wish she were still here, but know she is enjoying heaven and one day I will join her. 

 

Growing up she always encouraged me to get into reading.  She would read to me and got me a magazine subscription to JACK AND JILL.  I brought them home from dad’s after he died and was going to try selling them on Ebay, but they weren’t in very good shape so I ended up tossing them out.  I still remember reading the witch story that was continued each month.  She also enrolled me in a book club and I still have some of those books.  Two I gave to my nephews as gifts.  One was about trucks and the other about a fish that kept growing because it ate too much.  She also bought quite a few other books for me and my dad built me my own bookcase that was in my bedroom.  Today, it is in my den. 

 

Once I got into school though, I actually had trouble reading because my eyes were bad and I couldn’t see the blackboard.  My first grade teacher held special sessions after school for those who were having trouble reading and that’s when she realized I needed glasses and told my parents.  What a difference it made when I could see.  That teacher, Ms. Franz, was on the ball. 

 

My love for reading never really jelled in spite of lots of trips to the library to encourage it.  I remember getting the shortest books I could find for book reports and reading about some baseball players and Peppi Longstocking.  I would much rather be active and do other things though.  Reading never made my list of priorities.  My mom loved reading novels about other countries and romance.  She liked Danielle Steele and subscribed to The Reader’s Digest book club that sent condensed versions. 

 

When my mom got to be housebound, I would go to the library for her and pick out books.  She was very appreciative of this but sometimes I picked books she didn’t care for.  Most of the time, I did pretty good.  I wish now that I read regularly, she were still here so we could discuss books.  I blew it but know she would be happy now that I am finally reading for pleasure.  It just took me a long time to catch the bug.  (I still don’t care for Danielle Steele books.)

 

What passion do you want to pass along to your children or what did your mom want you to love doing?  Please check out our Spooktacular Stephen King book Giveaway--closes at 12:30 Oct. 31.

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