a storied week end

First story:

"Play with me!"

The call came at 7:00 am on Saturday morning. I dragged myself out of bed (D.'s big brother was at a sleepover, so I couldn't bribe him to look after his younger sibling).

"What do you want to play?", I asked wearily.

"Uncle Wiggily," came the reply.

I groaned. This game, which consists of moving a plastic rabbit along a path (the pieces are moved along based on the number on a card drawn by the player. Each card also has a poem that D. insists we read. Every time) has been played many, many, many times of late.

I played dutifully, if somewhat grudgingly, and definitely groggily. D. asked about one of the characters on the board and I remembered that a booklet, lost long ago, with a story had come with the game.

I googled Uncle Wiggily and found a link to a trove of stories, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. There are thirty-one Uncle Wiggly stories (they were written by Howard R. Garis).

And we started to read, no video, not even any pictures, just the sound of my voice as we cuddled on the couch. At the end of each story (which is always a cliffhanger), D. would ask for another. We broke for breakfast, then read a few more.

We had an amazing morning, filled with stories written for children ninety-five years ago.

Second story:

Saturdays are library days in my house. Usually, this is something that D. and I do but this past week end, my older son and his best friend decided to come along.

I left the older boys to peruse the graphic novels (and I have to share that an elderly gentleman went out of his way to let me know how polite they were) while I took D. to the children's section.

After we'd checked out our books, we sat at a picnic table outside the library, with the older boys on one side pouring over their haul, and D. and I with our backs to them on the other, reading a book about hockey. The dog lay contentedly at my feet.

It was a lovely tableau (and the looks on the faces of passersby confirmed this).

Third (and final) story:

Yesterday, my older son, S. and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (in IMAX and 3D!).

I honestly thought this was everything a movie should be. Fun, engrossing, beautiful. The time flew by. I looked over at one point (during the 3D part) and saw my nine year old son, reaching out to grab at an object on the screen. It really did feel that real.

We are very much looking forward to the publication of the final book, next week.

I have loved books and their stories for as long as I can remember. And I am so pleased and proud that my children (and my spouse) love reading as much as I do.