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You guys have to check out what the brilliant fellow-homeschooling mama Subspace Beacon did to continue the “Valentine’s Plant” tradition into St. Patty’s Day. Awesome!
Now, I expect someone to plant “jellybean plants” for Easter, “American flags” for 4th of July, “pencils” for Back to School. . .every day is a holiday, right?
Again this morning, Fairly Odd Father kissed me goodbye and left for several days. He’ll be home late this week.
We have a busy week, full of playdates and activities and projects, so I know the time will pass quickly. I may even try to do some limited Shredding, although with my knee still out of wack and now my shoulder seized, the only exercise I can probably do safely is the Kegel, which is, interestingly, not part of the Shred regimen. If Jillian spit out three babies in under four years, I bet she’d be telling us to Kegel. Just sayin’.
And I certainly have enough reading material to keep me occupied (seriously, you guys are awesome).
But, at around 9pm, when the kids fall to sleep, I really feel alone. If FOF goes away too much more, you can bet he’s going to return home one night to find that I’ve decided to increase our family by one canine.
I used to be the kid who went to the library every week and left with a stack of 10, 12, 15 books teetering in my arms. I’d go home, find a corner and read. And read. And read.
When my friend Michele and I were tweens, we’d go to each other’s house . . .and read. Yes, just hang out and read.
I pretty much knew I’d be an English Major in college by the time I was 14. Once in college, I took only one (required) Math class and not a single Business class in order to take more literature and philosophy classes.
I still go to the library every week, but now I now leave with a giant bag of books for the kids. If a book makes it in the bag for me, it often goes unopened and unread. And, on the rare occasion that I make it to a book store for some “alone time”, I wander the racks aimlessly until I find myself in the children’s section picking out books for the kids.
It makes me sad that I no longer know what to read, nor do I make time to do it.
I know that I have replaced my “reading habit” with the internet, the short articles in The New Yorker (ok, the cartoons) and with silly reality television. Just typing this has made another 1% of my brain turn to a cottage cheese-like mush, like on those Hulu commercials.
But, when I venture into the library or bookstore now, I have no idea what to pick out. I want to read for fun, not reference. But, I cannot read those Twilight books and hate anything with the word “Shopaholic”, “Lust” or “Alien” in the title. And, I don’t want horror, goth or anything with a “quest”.
If you ask me who I like to read, I struggle a bit to remember and then recall devouring the short stories of Sandra Cisneros and Pam Houston, reading Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Russo, crying over Carol Shields. I just grabbed three of my favorite novels from my bookshelf and they are Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, The Bone People and The Shipping News. Published in 1974, 1984 and 1993, respectfully. Not exactly the latest and greatest, you know?
So, Book People, please come forth and lay your favorites on the table for me. This mama needs to unplug and sit up late, curled up on the couch, with nothing but the ticking of the clock and the sound of pages turning to keep her company.
Christina is a married, homeschooling, part-time working mom to three children in Southeastern Massachusetts. She's funnier on Twitter than in real life, unless she's had a drink. You can email her directly at fairlyoddmother@inbox.com.
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