Be a Reading Mother!

Image: The Fairy Tale by James Sant

What a blessing each Lord's Day is when we purposefully slow down to focus on faith, family, sometimes friends, and, frequently, taking time to refresh ourselves before another week ahead.

As my children grow, we don't spend the entire day every Sunday together, of course, but we dp aim to be together for Mass and at least a bit of family time, too. 

Sometimes, our time together includes read-togethers. For, yes, even with teens and tweens, I still try to include read alouds in our lives. In the minivan and at home, we sometimes all get read to by an audio CD. At home, I also still read aloud to my kids.

Sometimes they grumble about it. Sometimes they eagerly gather. Always I am glad for the time to share time together with books.

I pray that when my children are older, they will look back at our read-together times with thoughts much like Strickland Gillilan writes about in this poem that is in the public domain.

What a fun poem it is and what a blessing it is to be a mother who reads to her children.

The Reading Mother

by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,

Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,

"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings--

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be--

I had a Mother who read to me.

I encourage all mamas to be reading mothers - reading adventure, reading spiritual readings, reading the Word.

God bless!