A Reading Resolution

We are book lovers in our house. We have bookcases everywhere. You may be wondering then why I have this large pile of books on the floor. This is my 'to read' stack beside my night table.

I don't always make New Year's resolutions and, when I do, I don't always make them public. Sometimes, they are just small private goals. I read recently that most New Year's resolutions are broken in the first week of January. I wonder if it's because they are too severe and unrealistic.

This year, I set myself a gentle goal. It is simply to read more. There are no quotas. It is a positive goal (rather than 'don't do this' or 'don't do that') that, as I pursue it, will probably set off a ripple effect of other small improvements.

In the past four years, as I became more and more involved in social media, Etsy teams and other online activities, my evenings have been spent on the computer. I've been reading books less and less. Instead of reading one more chapter, I was checking one more thing on my iPad before bed. My 'to read' stack became a daunting mountain.

One of many bookcases in our house

I have always loved to read. I loved taking out books from the library when I was a young girl and I would regularly read past my bedtime at night. I thought I was being surreptitious but, when my father would come upstairs, he would feel the lightbulb in my bedside lamp and know that I had just turned it out when I heard his footsteps.  My degree in university was in English literature. I would ask for books for gifts and have continued this tradition by including books in every birthday and Christmas gift I have given to my daughters. One of the sweetest memories I have of Emma as a child is her coming into my bedroom at age eleven or so with this extremely serious look on her face. As she said 'Mama' and began to speak, I remember being worried what she was going to say. She said 'Mama, I just wanted to thank you for giving me your love of reading.' My heart melted.

So this year is about getting back to the heart of what I love. It's about moving away from the computer earlier in the evening, not worrying about refreshing tabs yet again, and reading before I turn out the light. I am happy to report that I am reading my third book since Christmas and can't wait to choose the next one from the mountain beside my bed.

❤  ❤  ❤