Sometimes I just like to hear my own voice, so I used to wait until nobody else was home and sit down with whatever book I was reading and read it aloud to myself. It never lasts long - I always forget to grab a glass of water so my throat gets dry and I give up, or I end up feeling silly reading aloud to myself.
Now that Olivia is a part of my life, I can fill the void of hearing my own voice by reading to her. The only issue there is her books are very short and it's hard to turn the pages of her board books because they're so thick. The reading is choppy and we spend more time looking at the pictures than talking.
The solution to my egotistical dilemma came about with the arrival of The Hunger Games Trilogy. Trey and I listened to the first book together and got very into the story, so ran into a roadblock when deciding who would get to read the second book first. Whoever read the second book first would have to keep all the plot points to themselves until the other person had time to read the book. Neither of us liked that proposition so we're reading the book aloud to each other. Each night - when we have the time - we take Olivia up to our room and Trey plays with her while I read to us then Trey reads to us while I put Olivia to bed. I get to hear my own voice while sharing an exciting story with my family - what could be better!
The bonus perk is the family time. I know that while we're reading the book aloud nobody will get up. The only other sound is Olivia's laughter at whatever toy Trey is shaking at her. This time together is absolutely perfect and I love that it's a book bringing us together and that Olivia is learning how special moments can be created through reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment