skating by
June 14, 2011 § Leave a comment
Bedtime on a summer evening feels like a sad impossibility to a spirited six-year-old. Bath, books, and kisses signaled the end of another day. For me. The sound of our hall linen closet clicking open and closed combined with the frenzied thumping of little feet racing back to bed told me the evening was young. I called out a firm “good-night” from my side of the hallway, aware the stolen moments are the sweetest. Silence followed and so I tiptoed to my daughter’s doorway curious to discover if sleep or a secret adventure created the absence of sound. This is what I found…
Curled up on her bed, head bent in a determined endeavor, my daughter was tying wash clothes to her feet; one orange and one pink, ends flopping over like terry cloth bunny ears. Her efforts revealed she tipped her head determinedly and declared, I am making skates. Then to demonstrate the significance of the task at hand, she popped off her bed and skated around her room, hardwood floors welcoming the adventure, and I let it pass with a smile.
bedtime
April 9, 2011 § Leave a comment
Somewhere between the colorful illustrations of a picture book and the independent efforts of chapter books, lies a special time when shared pages of longer stories sweep parent and child in to the enchanting space of a story. Curled next to my daughter, reading a gifted author, I endearingly note she watches my lips move, eyes wide as the pictureless story weaves from words to voice, becoming. In the quiet moments before bedtime we share the magic of a book.
There will come a time when she will navigate these voyages between chapters on her own. I wonder if she will tuck her book under her pillow dreaming of the characters she has come to know or if she will stow away beneath her bedding gathering the story close by the glow of a flashlight. For now, she happily listens to the stories I select. It will be curious to see the titles she will find for herself.
Like her big brother before her, she has made space in her days and her heart for possibility between the pages of a book.
scribblechic 