Yesterday was Father’s Day. A day to reflect on and celebrate the men in our lives that had a positive impact on us or those we love.
I was lucky to have my father in my life until he passed away at the age of 79. I was born in the late 1950s when fathers were not often seen doing the inside household chores and that was true of my father. Although he did flip the Sunday morning pancakes!
But Dad was very much a part of our lives. He was strict. One look and you know you’d done something wrong. But he was interested in all we did. We ate dinner together as a family. He helped with homework, attended extracurricular activities, chauffeured us, interacted with our friends and always had LOTS of advice!
Dad and Mom had a huge impact on my love of reading. Both of them encouraged us by doing. Mom always had a book going (as do I)! Dad was not a fiction reader, but read the newspaper every night (as do I) and read magazines (as do I). I have memories of reading the comics in the newspaper with Dad, of him reading to us at bedtime or sometimes telling us stories. Trips to the library were frequent and books were given as presents.
As an adult, I began writing because my mom suggested I take an aptitude test for a children’s writing course. When I was accepted Mom and Dad supported me by giving me a state of the art (then!) word processor which save me time as I squeezed writing in around raising two toddlers. And of course they always LOVED my stories.
Even at my age I trace my love of reading and writing all the way back to my parents. Think about that…If your children were asked, at the age of 60+, why do you like to read or why don’t you like to read; will they mention you in their answer?
Making Magic with Words 