it's the simple things........

reading a book to a child...now that  is what memories are made of!

When I was young, my family was poor. I didn't have the option of anticipating holidays to receive gifts because I was raised as a Jehovah's witness. They don't celebrate Christmas or birthdays, so I had to come up with ideas that would keep me busy. I loved to read, so made sure that every week when we had "library day" at school, I would check out a lot of books to keep me busy. I lost myself in many worlds and wished there were a few I could write a happier ending to, such as "Old Yeller." It was there also that I learned that life doesn't always have a happy ending, no matter how much one tries.

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a rare treat: someone threw away a huge box full of children's books in the Dumpster at my town home complex. I brought the box home, eagerly going through it's contents. I remembered back to when I was about eleven years old and someone gave me a box almost as big of novels that they had outgrown. Oh, how I loved those books! I still have many of them on my shelf today! As I went through this box, in my mind I made piles of which of our grandkids would get what book for the upcoming Christmas holiday. I pictured them opening it, then squealing with glee and climbing into a willing lap. "Read this!" they would demand. When my own kids were young, I read every night, sometimes the same book many times in a row!

Last Sunday as I looked through ads at the latest kids' gadgets for sale, I noticed how easily it would be for them to be excited, then bored by the current toys that are making the rounds. Everything needs batteries or else a degree in technology for the many buttons; a twelve page instruction manual may or may not be included! I look at that box of books, sitting now in my office. It is my hope that books will find a place in the heart of these grandkids as much as they have a place in my own!

This Christmas, get a book or three and have them handy at your place. When the little ones come around, create a tradition of reading stories and telling tales. The memories will be worth it! It's the simplicity of the quality times together that will linger long after the batteries of some technologically driven toy have long died out.