Remembering the Joys of Reading

As a child, I was an early reader. I was also a young kindergartner, having turned 5 just before the school year started. I was starting to read simple books before I started school and probably during first grade I was on to larger chapter books and my favorites were the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I remember how much I loved watching the series on television and my mom had found a full-length pioneer-style dress with a bonnet that I would put on to get into character when I'd sit down and read the books.

Later, in maybe fourth grade, I remember reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and how much I liked it and then The Diary of Anne Frank made quite an impact in about sixth grade. By high school I was so preoccupied with all the social interacting and boys, I didn't much care for reading anymore. It seemed more of a chore. And once I got out in the working world and married, I didn't really read books much, mostly magazines. I recall reading The Firm after I'd seen the movie starring Tom Cruise and it was the first book I read in a very long time that I read for pleasure and not because I had to. When my first son was on the way, I read everything I could that had to do with caring for babies or naming babies and from then on, every bit of reading material revolved around motherhood. I'd try to relax from time to time and read something for pleasure, but I'd often get a few chapters in and never get back to it.

When I picked up packets at the library for the kids' summer reading program, I realized that it had been last summer when I last read an entire book from start to finish. It was the required summer reading for my high schooler, but i decided to read it, too. It was Swallowing Stones, a book that I had a hard time putting down. It was the fourth book I read last year over a couple months, which was more than I had completed since I was a student. I do read daily. It's just usually a newspaper or a magazine article or something I find online. Something that you can get through quickly when you just have a few minutes to spare. Full books are hard to fit into the schedule, especially since I find myself needing to get back t it when it's a good one and everything else seems to fall by the wayside while I am enthralled in the story.

The other books I read last year were Let's Roll (the story of 9/11 passenger Todd Beamer's life as told by his wife), Why You Crying' (a hilarious and heartwarming autobiography by comic George Lopez) and The Passerby, which I read before interviewing the author for an article. With all of them, I started and just kept reading and reading, unable to pull myself away.

A few months ago I picked up a copy of Three Cups of Tea, but just couldn't find the time to finish it.

So, on a trip to the library with the boys recently, I told them we'd go to the children's section after Mom picked out a book to read while they played. I went to the biographies, my favorite reading material, and grabbed a few. My eight-year-old even grabbed one from that section. It was way beyond his reading level, but I wasn't going to discourage it. he checked out a 670+ page biography of Christopher Columbus.

Once we got to the youth area, the boys got to playing and I got to reading. I opened Last Man Down, the story of FDNY Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto and his escape from the rubble of the World trade Center north tower on 9/11. I just kept reading. The kids kept playing. Next thing I knew I was nearly half-way through the book. It had been almost two hours and the library was about to close. I brought it home and read another hour before bed. Then the next day, after the kids got out of school, we headed to a park where they ran for a little bit and I read a little more. We got home, had some lunch and they watched a movie while I finished up the book. 243 pages and I was done in less than 20 hours. I start reading and race to the end, then am left with this feeling of "now what?" So, after some housework, we set off for the pool and I grabbed another book. This time it was another autobiography, 700 Sundays, by Billy Crystal. As the kids swam and splashed, I sat in the shade at the edge of the pool, flipping pages and watching the kids frolic, laughing out loud at both the kids and the story.

I had forgotten how fun it was to read - to escape into the setting of the book. I'd sit there looking at those manila pages and suddenly I was there beneath smoldering rubble alongside some exhausted and anxious firefighters or I was taking in a jazz concert as a young Billy Crystal or sitting with him at Yankee Stadium watching Mickey mantle hit one out of the park. Over the two hours at the pool, I got through roughly two-thirds of the book. I probably won't be able to rest my head tonight until I'm finished so i can start another book tomorrow. I know I can't keep this up. I'll soon be completely exhausted and my home will suffer. However, I've resolved to keep a book close at hand this summer. I seem to spend so much time waiting. Waiting in a doctor's office, waiting in parking lots for my children, waiting at a sports practice. Rather than spending that time sending texts or staring off into space, I can escape to whatever place or scene exists on the pages inside the cover.

Sisters Weekend, Part II

I intended to write a follow-up to our second sister's weekend and time got away from me. So, I'll fill you in now. My sister, who lives in Geneva, Illinois, had noticed a sisters weekend planned in downtown St. Charles. She offered up her house as our lodging for the weekend and another sister booked us for the sisters weekend activities.

It was a great break that we all needed. It was me, my three sisters and a sister-in-law. We started night one with a wine tasting at a local steakhouse, followed by a a pajama party at Hotel Baker. It was so much fun. They have different prizes for pajamas and some groups went all out with cool, matching sets. There was a DJ and dancing and the best part was the mini-spa services - short massages, manicures, wax treatments, pedicures and make-up applications. We had a blast, leaving the hotel in pajamas and slippers in a rainstorm, then making a late-night Taco Bell stop.

The following day there were workshops and special sales at downtown shops. We discovered a wonderful restaurant, the RX Cafe, and had a leisurely gourmet lunch. In the evening it was a show at the Arcada Theatre of Michael Jackson tribute artists and a Mowtown Band.

On Sunday, we went for a cooking demonstration at Thai Zie, a great Thai restaurant with fresh, tasty food and wonderful service. After making spring rolls, we stayed for a filling lunch. I headed home and the other girls stayed for a little shopping. It was a great end to a fun-filled, refreshing weekend. I'd recommend it for any group of sisters or girlfriends to get together. Get more information at http://dtown.org/events/sisters_weekend.asp.

A weekend with the sisters

Last year, my sisters and I (I have an older sister and younger twin sisters) decided to get together and spend the night at a B & B we visited a few times as kids with our parents. The planning got a little more elaborate and we ended up meeting for lunch at Lucrezia Cafe in Chesteron, followed by a little antique browsing and some shopping at the nearby Schoolhouse Shops. After that, we checked into the Gray Goose Inn, also in Chesterton. The owner, Tim, knows our family well and gave us free use of the dining and sitting areas. It was a Sunday night in January and we were the only guests that night. We sat in the dining room giggling, eating and drinking. Later we watched a movie in our room and turned in for the night.

The next morning was a gourmet breakfast and after check-out, we drove down the block to the WaterBird spa where we indulged in massages, manicures and pedicures and had lunch.

Our girl's getaway lasted about 24 hours, but it was such a nice getaway. It was nice being pampered, shopping and enjoying great food that we didn't have to cook. We decided that day that it would be an annual thing.

My sister lives in Geneva and the neighboring town of St. Charles hosts an annual Sister's Weekend, so she suggested it as our next girly getaway. We're fresh off of our second trip, which was wonderful. More on it in the next blog.

Bringing out that wee bit of Irish

St. Patty's Day was quite fun this year. I'm always up for partying with the kids in their classrooms at school. Last month I went in with fried rice and fortune cookies for Chinese New Year and mentioned to my son's 2nd grade teacher that maybe I'd make Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day. I told her I wasn't any good at making corned beef and cabbage or I'd bring that in. She told me that her mom's corned beef was great and she'd see if she could talk her into making it or showing her how.


A few days before St. Patrick's Day, another mom told me she was going to make Green River floats, which I thought was a great idea. So, on March 17, I showed up with Irish soda bread (I did intend on baking it, but there just aren't enough hours in the day and the Strack and Van Til bakery probably did a better job than I would have) and Green River soda and vanilla ice cream. Ms. P's mom brought in two huge casserole dishes filled with corned beef, potatoes, cabbage and carrotts. Oh, yum!


I then set off to visit two of my other boys and make floats and hand out soda bread. It was a fun day. I love having the opportunity to pop into the classroom for fun stuff like that. The teachers have always been great about allowing me to help educate the kids about different cultures using food. After all, it is educational, too. :)


In the evening, we drove out to the Lake County courthouse to watch Crown Point's 2nd annual evening St. Patrick's Day parade. Couldn't believe the crowd. As I was there celebrating my Irish pride (my ethnic heritage is mainly British, with some Scottish, Irish and Native American thrown in), up marched the Band of Brothers Pipes and Drums group - which elicited another kind of pride.


The group is made up entirely of area firefighters, including some of my husband's co-workers. For families of firefighters, the sound of bagpipes seem to bring forth emotions. They sound beautiful, yet eerie. I saw the group perform last year on 9/11 at a benefit and just left in awe of these people and the profession they've chosen. They really are heroes. I felt pride at being married to one of the men in that brotherhood known as the fire service that is unique to any other career out there. Many days at the firehouse are monotonous and routine, but for the risks that may or may not be awaiting them when the tones go off, the unpleasantries they deal with from the public as firefighters and paramedics and the heartbreak they face when their strongest efforts aren't enough to save a child, I applaud them all for doing what they do. I sure couldn't do it.

Moms never stop learning lessons

Wow, it's been a while since my last entry. Don't I always say that? Guess motherhood and writing keep me quite busy. Happy New Year!

I've been busy keeping up with regular deadlines and trying to keep up with all the digital media out there these days...tweeting about my travel articles, creating a fan page for my book and just the fun of keeping up with other moms on Facebook. The boys have been busy with a science fair project, cub scouts and the regular homework and I can't believe baseball season is right around the corner.

I was talking the other day with my husband about opportunities our kids have that we didn't and how kids today seem to take such opportunities for granted. I was not a real confident kid, but I did like to try new things. I always wanted to try band, takes classes and lessons of different kinds, etc. I did Girl Scouts one year and remember how much I loved it. When it was cookie season, I was all over the neighborhood determined to outsell everyone and I did.

I have to remember, though, that even thought I was the type of kid who wanted to try everything, not every kid is that way. As a parent, you have to gently push them into new endeavors, recognize where their talents lie and help guide them in a direction that will nourish them in many ways. Signing them up for a class they're not interested in or registering them for a sport they aren't into sometimes backfires. When they're little, it's good to get them to try something, but you also need to learn when to back off. Parenting is a journey where you never stop learning such lessons...

Bye for now.

Christmas is over - relief and disappointment

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. It's been a casual, relaxing week and there's one more to go before school resumes and so do the hectic schedules of school, homework and all that goes with it. There have been four days in the past week that I haven't left the house and it has been nice - especially as I've been watching the snow out the window. However, there's always that bit of a letdown after Christmas. After all the time spent decorating, shopping and preparing, it's over in a few hours. I'm always bothered, too, by how the radio stations drop all the peppy holiday tunes on December 25th. I always want to hear them a little bit more. I hope everyone has had a great holiday and wish you good health and happiness in the new year.

Mornings of madness

One morning earlier this week, I opened my eyes, looked over at the clock and realized it was almost time to get out of bed. I was dreading it. Not only was it Monday, bu this morning would be more hectic than usual. Five children had to be in five different places.

So, I got up and woke up my 10-year-old who had to get up about an hour earlier than usual for his first early morning band practice. He was excited about going and got himself up and ready. We get out in the van, I turn the key...nothing. Then I look up to see the overhead lights barely shining, just a dim glow. I look down on the dash and discover that I left them on. Occasionally the boys will turn one on above their seat and forget to turn it off, but I couldn't even blame anyone. It was turned on beside the steering wheel - it was totally my bad.

My husband rushed him off to band practice, then charged my battery. By the time it was done, the next kid had to be delivered to school. He was running a couple minutes behind, which throws off everything else. He's off to school and I'm getting lunches, snacks and water bottles prepared for the day.

Ok, next one is about to head off to school. Another has a 9 a.m. dentist appointment. Yikes! He was going to have hot lunch at school and then I realize that he'll be there late because of the dentist visit and he won't be included in the lunch count. I throw another lunch together and send him out the door with my husband to the dentist's office, which is a half-hour away (in good traffic.)

Now I'm off with the last two. A train is on the tracks on the way to the first school. So, we wait. Then he gets dropped off. Finally, it's off to the final stop. My poor preschooler seldom makes it to school before they start circle time. His class starts at the same time as his older brothers' school and considering that his older brothers receive detentions when they're tardy a few times, getting him to preschool a couple minutes late is how it has to be. It doesn't help, though, when a slow-moving train adds to the delay.

Finally, I walk him to his classroom, slipping in quietly trying not to interrupt the teacher's puppet show and then exit the building. I let out a big sigh. Everyone is where they should be. Then...I realize that it's not Monday. Schools were closed the day before for Columbus Day and it's actually Tuesday. Yeah! One day closer to Friday! There's always a silver lining!