Sometimes I’m the mean, grumpy mom who won’t ever buy my boys ANYTHING. Like at the restaurant when they want to buy a soda; or at the State Fair when they want to ride all the rides; or at the local amusement park when they want some ice cream.
I tell them we don’t need it and we’re saving our money for other things.
But there is one thing that I will buy for them freely – books.
I’m a sucker for buying my kids things to read. I don’t love taking them to the book fair but I do love filling out scholastic book orders and taking them to the library.
I ran to Wal-Mart earlier this week to get my oldest the latest book in his favorite series – Michael Vey. He has a hard time finding things he loves so if he’ll read it, I’ll buy it! (We have a very extensive shark book collection because that’s all he would read when he was first starting out.)
I wrapped his new book in a red ribbon and wrote a “Happy Reading” note to go with it.
I think I was more excited for him to get it than he was. It brought back memories of working the Friday night shift as a young reporter when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out. I convinced my editors to let me cover a giant Harry Potter party in Salt Lake City. It was magical. Quidditch, butter beer, mystical creatures, you name it. It was there and I got to be a part of it.
It also reminded me of the time I waited in line at midnight to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Then there was the time recently when I waited for hours with my two oldest boys to get autographs from Richard Paul Evans and Brandon Mull.
Just this week my 7-year-old got a typed letter from one of his favorite authors Mary Pope Osborne. He wrote her about a year ago and finally heard back. He proudly read what she wrote while grinning from ear to ear.
He was so happy.
And that’s what I want. I want my kids to be happy – happily reading.
From bright colored shapes and letters in baby board books to thick chapter books like Percy Jackson, I love seeing each of my kids delight in reading.
That’s why I’ll whip out my wallet to buy them a book. Every. Single. Time. It’s worth every penny.
Boogers on the Wall 