Books Still Matter

Hello Readers:

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/backtoschool/do-books-still-matter-2513341/
This great article came across my Twitter feed this morning and inspired me to write a new post. As a parent, I’m always looking for new ways to teach my kids a new subject or lesson in morality. But nothing beats a good, old-fashioned story read from the pages of a book. The news of the closure of national chain Borders Books saddened me yesterday.  Although they were a behemoth that in their prime put many independent book stores out of business, they are still a brick and mortar store that allows the reader to peruse the shelves for a tome that catches your fancy at any particular moment. Not to mention that they hosted a great children’s story time in the morning. The store in Carmel Mountain Ranch in San Diego had a great storyteller named Susan that was a favorite of the kids and many parents as well, and story time was always packed.

When I shop on Amazon.com, I usually have a particular book in mind, but I rely on my local book store to keep me up to date on what’s new in the literary world. I admit that I have caught the digital book bug, it is very convenient when waiting at the doctor’s office or reading at the park. I love that many of the classics are free on Kindle. I’m catching up on the books I didn’t have time for in high school or college. But as convenient as digital books are, either for busy adults or weary students tired of lugging cumbersome texts in their backpacks, nothing beats the feel of flipping through the pages of a book. The feeling could come from the anticipation of reading a new book, never touched by another human, or a well-worn favorite, the words as familiar as your own life story.

I rely heavily on our local libraries for books for the kids. They read through their books at home so fast and it would be expensive and space consuming to keep buying books for them. They look forward to the weekly trips, either to the school library or our local county branch. I love that they have caught the book bug. Their nightly story time is highly anticipated and they get angry with me if I’m sick and can’t read to them. Luckily, my 6-year-old son had become a very proficient reader and has taken it upon himself to read to his sister. It not only helps him with his reading skills, it forms a bond that will keep them close throughout their entire lives. My daughter took over half an hour yesterday looking through the stacks for a book. She apparently had something particular in mind.  She wanted a book about butterflies and was very upset that nothing in the library matched her specifications. I told her to look for something else, and even though she was driving my son insane with her indecisiveness, I admire the fact that she took her time to find the right book that made her happy.

Aimee

Happy Anniversary to my love!

This weekend marks my 12th wedding anniversary with my husband, Jim. Hard to believe, time flies so quickly. Good times, even the lean years weren’t that bad, even despite the economy. We have two kids, well, those early years were a little stressful. Moves to San Diego and back to Orange County, with 10 years in between. We had two dogs and a cat, the precursor to children, and managed to keep them all from dying, at least until they got old. The moment you first locked eyes with our newborn son, and it’s like he knew exactly what’s up. A marriage is definitely made up of these little memories, and I’m so glad to be sharing them with you Jim. I love you, Happy Anniversary.

Twitter is keeping me sane

I started my Twitter account on January 28 to follow the events of the Egyptian Revolution unfold from people on the ground. But it has become such a great tool to interact, have adult conversations and even escape from my kids for just a few minutes at a time. I’ve tried establishing friendships with moms from school or at the park, but conversations always end up gravitating towards potty training, preschool, homework or even worse, vacation bible school. Why must moms try to shove their damn church in my face at every turn?
So, Twitter, I owe you a debt of gratitude. For giving me snippets of sane, real world talk about news, sports, entertainment and everything in between.
Aimee

Long time since I wrote

Hello Readers,
This post is about nothing in particular other than while I was sick I had plenty of time to read other bloggers work. I decided that sometimes I’ll just have to post short sweet little notes to keep up my writing prowess. I just can’t write long posts all the time, especially with the kids running around, and I need to just keep in contact. So to keep you entertained and/or interested in me, I’ll post shorter, more frequent entries from now on. I hope you will like that.
Aimee