Inspired to Read

From the time I was a little girl I knew that reading was a magical thing, something that could take you away and give voice to your thoughts. How this came about I have to attribute to my mother. Not that I ever remember her having the time to read a book but she made certain that it was an integral part of my childhood. From my first steps reading Dick and Jane books at school to the innumerable trips we made to the library (a place where you could have as many books as you wanted? For free? How can this be?!). Is it odd that I clearly remember every library in every city where we lived? From the children’s room at the Greeley Public library with big squashy bean bag chairs and sunlight streaming through the windows to the tiny town library where I’d read through the entire collection of children’s books by the time I hit 5^th grade. I even remember the first book I was allowed to check out on my own with my own library card. I made my mother hang out for an hour while I trolled up and down the aisles to find just the right book. It was the intriguing Laurie and Company by Eleanor Lattimore. I loved that book.

When I was in middle school the librarian called my mother to tell her she was concerned that I was reading books that were too old for someone my age. My mother nicely but firmly told her that “if Cathy wants to read something then she’s old enough”. I look on that as one of the most affirming things she ever did for me. Now, did it mean I was left to my own devices? No! She always knew what I was reading and would often talk to me about various books. The only reading thing I was able to slip past her was my illicit reading of Cosmopolitan magazine when I was 13 and alone at the library. She thought Barbies promoted poor self-image so Cosmo would have sent her over the edge.

Libraries aside, my mother also incorporated books into the world of holidays and gifts. Every Easter we got a book with our Easter basket and at Christmas I was as excited by the latest Nancy Drew as I was by the Snow White Madame Alexander doll. As an adult she has continued to indulge this passion by buying me first editions of books I love.

Is it any surprise then that I became an English major in college and then went on to become a librarian? Perhaps not the best choices in these trying times but I still find reading to be my greatest escape. It’s also still a link between my mother and me as we discuss books as much as anything else. This love of words and reading was easily the best gift my mother gave me.