Reading is my favorite

Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love to read.  When I was a child reading was my favorite pastime.  Where I read was important too.  Depending on where we lived, or whose house I was visiting, I had my favorite spots.

While at home, I loved to paddle our little jon boat (flat bottomed boat with 3 bench seats) out and tie it to a big inner tube in the middle of the man-made lake (called “the rockpit”) that we lived in front of.  I would lie out there, not a care in the world and let myself be transported to another time and place.  I could read until dark or whenever mom called me in for dinner.  If I was inside, I was most likely on my bed, but it had to be made.  I don’t like to read in messy areas.

At Granny’s my preferred spot was outside in front of her house perched in the middle of a big, old ficus tree.  I would take a grape soda and some cookies out there and settle in for the long haul.   In later years when she moved, I made a cozy spot in her spare room/office, and often when I was younger I would make a fort over her desk and chair with sheets and blankets and use a flashlight to read by.  My surroundings have always been an important part of the equation when I want to read or think.

Whether it was Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, The Hobbit or Anne of Green Gables and Judy Blume boxed sets, I was captivated (unless of course, the reading was a ruse and I was actually eavesdropping on adult conversations which I enjoyed immensely).To this day, if I see a young girl with a book in hand, it brings back such warm memories.  I feel happy for them that they have discovered the joy of reading.  It can fill up lonely hours or make good use of time that you would spend waiting (at the dentist, doctor, hair dresser…I could go on and on ) and chase away boredom rather quickly.

My reading habits have changed somewhat over the years; sometimes I read more than a book a week, sometimes I go for a time without finishing one, but I still like the quiet. I like to read my bible first thing in the morning before the sun or anyone else is up; just me, my cup of coffee and God.