48 days, that’s how long it’s been, 48 days and so far I can brag that keeping this year’s resolutions is on track. I am struggling with one but think I can still make it partly because I set this bar pretty low. As I have mentioned my resolutions this year are more about being deliberate and purposeful in my actions.
My mom reads and reads. Thanks to a more suck up sister my mom has a Kindle. Mom has two complaints about this new-fangled device, the free books from the library that can be down loaded are limited to a certain number of books at any one time and she can’t check them back early. Once she has read all the books she has checked out she has to wait for days before they can be checked back in and then be allowed to download more. For little intervals Mom has to return to the old fashioned way of reading that requires you to turn a page, browse through dusty shelves looking for that intriguing cover. Real books, you know those antique devices that double as coasters for your hot coffee.
I have the opposite problem; I like books, kinda like to read, unless I can find something more fun like watching tv, running, swimming, working, painting, hobbies,… did I say working, yeah that to. Mind you I have read a number, but the last couple of years without any new Harry Potter books I just got out of the habit. Enough so that choosing a book is as daunting a task as reading one.
To cure my poor habit and to do it deliberately, I have resolved to read 6 this year. That may seem minuscule, especially compared to mom who checks out more than that every chance she gets, and it is certainly not a big enough task to brag about. It is certainly not enough to save Boarders. The truth is it’s not the number of books but rather it is the particular books I will read that are at the heart of his year’s resolution. The particularly odd twist is I don’t know all the titles yet. I have resolved to read something recommended to me by chosen family members, not books selected by me, but books chosen by people special in my life, books that they enjoyed.
If I have one piece of advice for parents it would be to take an interest in the lives of your children. Particularly as they grow into adulthood. Learn to be interested in their interests. Listen to the music they listen to, eat at the restaurants they like, sample drinks they indulge in, visit he churches they picked, attend the movies, plays, sporting events that they attend. Truly take an interest in them.
Live life with your children or loved ones and you just might find yourself; celebrating with family as you finish the Chicago Marathon, liking sushi, singing the words of the Broadway musical Wicked, attending rock and roll music filled worship service while realizing you really do feel like church is the place to dance. You may find yourself admiring the Children’s Church effort at a particular church. You may learn that even with traffic Atlanta is a nice place to live or that Turkish coffee is a bitter but pleasing taste. You just might begin wishing for a new faster bicycle. You’ll find some things you don’t like; I haven’t yet found a wine that doesn’t taste like bad grape juice and some German food is just disgusting. You will have plenty to talk about. You will learn allot about your children and loved ones that you admire.
6 books, knowing a couple of my children they might select the longest book possible, one they disliked, just so they could get a laugh at my expense, in that way they are a whole lot like me. I don’t need a book to tell me that.
Wonder if they would notice if I just read the Cliff Notes?
David
