Reading Between the Lines

Over the years we have settled into a routine. My job when I get home from work is to clean the kitchen and get the kids in the bath and then into bed.

The bedtime ritual includes reading stories. We have all heard the advice about how important it is to read to your kids, but to be honest after reading Green Eggs and Ham for the 5ooth time I start thinking about leaving them on their own and just hope it works out.

But I persevere.

Since I am stuck reading I have made it a quest of mine to be the perfect example of reading. I meticulously read each word, remaining true to the story and the authors intent, even if it's just Goodnight Moon.

One thing I haven't done in a long time is listen to Mindy read bedtime stories to the kids. But that all changed this week while we were in LA escaping the fires in San Diego. We got to share a room with the kids, so one night Mindy laid down on the bed and began to read stories, and with no where else to go I laid down to listen.

Big mistake.

I listened as she read and to my horror I noticed that Mindy was just using the Author' words as an outline of the story. As I followed along I realized that she skipped lines here and there and often times paraphrased entire paragraphs.

The repetition of Dr. Suess in Green Eggs and Ham became: "And he didn't want to eat it with a goat" instead of reading through each and every random location he refused. Sure the kids got the jist of the story - guy doesn't like green stuff then finally tries it. But what about the cadence and rhythm of Dr. Suess?

Sacrilege.

I couldn't take it. All those years of following the rules, reading every word!!

I had to leave the room.