Monday, December 7, 2009

Dear Abigail

Abigail,

I decided today that I wanted to write you this letter to talk to you about books.

I was inspired to do this at some point this afternoon while we were driving around town and you were sleeping in the back seat. I started thinking about the books that you like, and then I started thinking about the first books I remember reading and loving.

When I was little, the first book I read by myself was called Stone Soup. I remember being so proud of myself when I finished it, and my mom made a really big deal out of that accomplishment. And rightly so.

Your uncle Michael and I read a lot of Bernstein Bear books - those are about a family of bears that get into all kinds of shenanigans, and sometimes they teach you how to handle real life situations too. As I got older, I went through a phase where I loved horse books and I read this whole series called Thouroughbred. I remember carrying those books with me everywhere. I sold them at a yard sale eventually - and I almost cried when somebody bought them. I remember going up to the lady and telling her that they were really good books and I hope she enjoyed them. In hindsight, she probably wasn't buying them for herself. Your Aunt Jennifer used to read to me when I was younger and I always loved that. She read me the Narnia books (well, some of them), and some other classics. Sometimes its nice to have somebody read to you.

So, Abby, here's the thing. Books are good. They are good for entertainment, and they are good for your brain. I hope you grow up to appreciate them. It would make me very happy if your bookshelf was always full. I hope you grow up to understand that books have a kind of energy about them. Especially really old ones. Books have a certain smell, and there are few things better than finding an old book and admiring the worn cover, yellowed pages, the smooth crisp paper and wondering to yourself who else has held the same book 100 years before you. Who else has read those pages and what did they think about it? What I'm trying to say is that books have a life of their own. And they should be appreciated. If you've inherited any of my genes - you'll get what I mean someday. It's harder to explain in writing than I thought it would be.

It's my job to make sure that you're exposed to lots of books as a child. It's a little bit daunting sometimes. I find myself determined to introduce you to all the classics so that you are a well rounded and productive member of society. I'm not sure that any official research has been done that connects Dr. Seuss familiarity with life success - but I'm going to do my best to cover the basics just in case. There are just a lot of books to cover - and you're going to love them.

So tonight, we took a detour and headed to the library before going home. I let you pick out some board books...this means I read you about a dozen of them and we checked out the two that you showed interest in - one was full of bright colors and baby's faces and the other one was mediocre until you found that the last page had a snowman on it...then you got excited again and demanded to read it over and over. After that, I took you to the Christmas section and we picked out a big colorful version of The Night Before Christmas. It's a classic and I hope you let me read it to you every year. **

And so tonight, before bed, You sat with me in the chair and drank your bottle while I read that story to you for the first time. You were completely relaxed and enjoyed looking at all the pictures. And I enjoyed watching you.

And so, sweet girl. I hope you grow up to enjoy reading - I promise I'll do my best to help you. And if you do - I promise you won't regret it.

Love you.

Mommy

** I asked if they had A Cajun Night Before Christmas and was told that it was at another location and they could order it for me. And for those of you who are not my siblings - this is the book I looked forward to hearing every year. My sister made the best voices - or at least we thought so at the time - At 7 I'm sure I didn't know what a Cajun accent should sound like, but I liked the one she did. That book holds a lot of memories for me too. :) Silly as it may be.

8 comments:

hannah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hannah said...

dear abigail,

your mom is the coolest mom ever.

now that that piece of info is out of the way, know this...it's normal if you need to tinkle when you walk in a bookstore. totally normal. i do it EVERY SINGLE TIME i walk in barnes and noble and any other old bookstore.

secondly, i hope someone gets the cajun night before christmas for you. it is, without a doubt, one of the funniest books ever. my parents read it to me when i was little too. (we had some cajun family in louisiana.)

i can't wait to meet you soon.

love, hannah (and baby pratt...who with any luck, will be your future husband :)

Laura said...

I can't believe you know that book. Too funny! And, you're hilarious, as always.

Billie Jo said...

Dear Abby,

I TOTALLY agree with Hannah. You have the coolest mom in the whole world. If only I can be half as cool as her, my kids might turn out ok.

I love, love, love books, too, and I'm so glad your mom wrote this post. The Berenstain Bears were some of my favorites, too. Every single time I go to the bookstore (which is a lot), I look at books for you. I would buy you all of them and send them to you if I could. That's how much I agree with your mommy about books and how much I also hope you love them.

This post really made my evening. I'm glad you got to go to the library, and I wish I knew about your love for snowmen before I sent your birthday present...maybe Christmas, though. ;-)

Love,
Billie Jo

jennybee said...

(Love)

It is hard to put into words how amazing and important and soul-sustaining books are. I'm awfully glad you learned that when you were little, Laura. Wish I'd been around more to read more of the books to you and Michael. Awfully fond memories for me, too.

We'll make sure Abigail is well-supplied in books. Few things are happier than a shelf full of books--the beloved favorites of years gone by, the ones people gave you that you're not sure about but plan to check out someday, the ones you can't wait to read again, the ones you read every day. Much awesomeness, Mom Laura included.

"'Twas the night before Christmas
An' all t'ru de house
Dey don't a t'ing pass
Not even a mouse.
De chirren been nezzle
Good snug on de flo'
An' Mama pass de pepper
T'ru de crack on de do'."

Ricky Rodriguez said...

Not gonna lie...loved Stone Soup and Cajun Night Before Christmas. Good stuff. Ready to read to my Goddaughter. See you soon.

Ricky Rodriguez said...
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Ricky Rodriguez said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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