I’ve been posting my Memory Lane Monday on the first Monday of each month.  Well, that is not working out as well as I would like with my schedule.  So starting today, I’m switching MLM to the third Monday of each month.  If you want to find out what memory is on my mind today, c’mon and head down memory lane with me.

One of my very favorite times with both of my kids when they were young was getting cozy together and reading to them.  We read many different authors, but when they were really little, it was a lot of Dr. Seuss and Berenstain Bears.

 

I specifically remember reading the Berenstain Bears B Book with Danny before he was even 2 years old.

 

A line on one of the pages was “Big blue ball”.  I can to this day hear him saying, “Bih boo bah” very fast and in an excited voice.  He was good with the beginning letter and the vowel sound, but he wasn’t yet producing the final letter sound.  And what boy doesn’t get excited about a ball?

But that’s not the memory I’m really zeroing in on today.

When I would read to my kids, if the context called for it, I read in a super excited tone of voice.  Well, one time when Danny was not yet two, I was reading to him (probably a Dr. Seuss book, I don’t recall actually), but I must have been a little TOO excited.  He was on my lap, and I was holding the book in front of us.  Without turning from the book, he reached up his hand and patted my right cheek, saying, “Belax, Momma, belax.”  You see, he wasn’t yet able to pronounce his R sound.

The reason I’m sharing this memory today is because, while I’ve always remembered it, within the last year or so, it has actually become a comforting memory for me.  That hadn’t happened before.  But I can find myself lately in a stressful situation or even maybe having slight anxiety about something, and I say to myself, “Belax, Momma, belax.”  And I think about that pudgy little hand reaching up and patting my face.  I swear to you, as crazy as it sounds, it calms me.

 

I’m sure this little fella 42 years ago had no idea that his simple act of loving his mother would still have an impact on her so many years later.  Well, it does.

Read to your children as much as you can.  It benefits not only them, but you as well.  I wonder if my kids remember any of those times when we read together.

What about you?  Do you remember reading to your children?  Are there any memories that stuck, as this one did with me?  If you’d like to share about that, or anything else at all, please do.  I love reading comments!

 

 

 

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