Summer Reading Challenge

 When I was a kid, in elementary school, every summer the public library had a Summer Reading Challenge. I think libraries still have something like that. My clearest memory of the summer reading challenge is one summer when I was maybe 9 or 10, in about 1963, maybe.

My mother, sister, brother and I had gone to the library to sign up. My brother was too young to be reading yet and my sister was also younger than me. The friendly librarian signed us up and got us started on our first book. I don't remember exactly how she convinced me, but my memory is getting pushed into choosing Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling. She definitely talked the book up; maybe it was a favorite from her own childhood.

I spent the entire summer reading that book and I don't remember a darned thing about it. And I was a fanatic reader - I would read for hours. My mother would tell me to turn on a light, I was going to ruin my eyes reading in the dimming light. Puck of Pook's Hill was not an enjoyable read for me. It was a slog.

Fast forward to the present- the lovely and brilliant ladies at Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic (https://carterhaughschool.com/) have presented an unorthodox summer reading challenge. Their passion is for folklore, fairy tales, and all that goes along with those things. Their summer reading challenge is quirky, intriguing, but not limited to folklore and fairy tale related books.

One item on the list is "finish a book that you started and like but somehow keep drifting away from and never finish." For me this was Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman but when I first tried reading Good Omens it gave me weird dreams. I began it again and really got into it this time - no dreams. 

Other suggestions on their list include "read a book in translation," "read a book with a blue cover," "puzzle through a book that challenges you," and "read your best friend's favorite book." I'm about to begin "read a book you own but have never read" - I Am Murdered, by Bruce Chadwick It's about George Wythe, who was Thomas Jefferson's teacher and who was indeed murdered. It also has a blue cover!

I certainly won't be able to complete the whole list, but that's not the point, of course. Wishing you all happy reading!

A Babysitting Adventure

 Last week I wrote about buying baby equipment. Yesterday we got to use it; we babysat him for about 9 hours! You forget how all-encompassing taking care of a baby is. And exhausting.

Also how confusing baby equipment is to put together!

He is a happy guy, but was still quite distressed when his parents left to go attend a wedding in Milwaukee, over an hour away (though he didn't know that). He did calm down and we had a good time reading books (sturdy board books - who knew that Jimmy Fallon wrote children's books!), playing ball (just rolling it, no playing catch yet!) and sitting in the backyard looking at things.

We were quite exhausted by his bedtime at 7:00. Both of us (my husband and I) learned a lot. Or maybe remembered a lot.

But the absolute best part of the day was that he smiles at me when he looks at me. He is happy to see me!

And today is a day to recuperate.