When Time Slips Away From You
While visiting my mom and dad a few weeks back, we were joking about how quickly the girls are growing up. My dad, nodding in agreement, looked at DH and said “Before you know it, they will be getting married.” Then he looked at me and smiled.In a funny (yet sad) kind of way, I totally get the concept of time slipping through my fingers. When I started SAHM Reviews in May of this year, I posted reviews off and on – as I found a product I loved or as opportunities presented themselves. It was fun, but it wasn’t my first priority. My husband, the kids and life were more important.
In late July, I received a package from HarperCollins Children’s Books. It arrived right before we left on vacation. Literally, the day before. The package included some books from the “I Can Read!”
I stashed them in my tote bag as a surprise for the girls during the long car ride. Miss K enjoyed looking at the pictures but Miss M surprised us by reading the book titles. As we drove along, we could hear her “reading” it. When we arrived at our destination, I found that she was getting some words right. She was also deciphering the story from the pictures.
When we returned home in August, things got crazy. Chaos ensued. We scrambled to find a new preschool for Miss K. Then Miss M started kindergarten. In September, my mother-in-law came to visit and stashed away in her luggage (among other gifts) was a pack of “I Can Read!” books for Miss M.
About that time, things got fuzzy. As I’ve said before, “life got in the way of blogging.” My blog is all about honesty, so it pains me to say this. Although I pride myself in maintaining a very professional approach to SAHM Reviews, I have to admit that I botched it. The items I received just prior to my blog hiatus, including the cache from HarperCollins, got pushed on the back burner.
Now that I’m getting back into the blog groove, I’m working to right my wrongs. I owe an apology to HarperCollins for the terribly delayed review!
Well, let me tell you that my dad had it so right. They grow up without us even realizing it. Between the time that we vacationed (where she was reading some words and deciphering the stories) and the visit from my MIL, Miss M learned how to read. I knew she was picking it up along the way but I had not really given her the chance to really shine. When I would ask her to go to her room to rest, she would ask if she could read. I would peek in at her and often find her reading one of her many “I Can Read!” books. But when my MIL came to visit and I watched Miss M read to her, I was truly amazed. She had come such a long way in a very short time. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Some of the “I Can Read!” books are based on new characters – like Fancy Nancy and Biscuit. But a few of them took my breath away when I realized that I knew the stories from when I was young. As Miss M read the book about Morris the Moose going to school, I smiled and remembered pieces of it from so long ago. I anxiously, yes-anxiously, awaited the part where he shoved all the gumdrops into his mouth. These stories are timeless and obviously more impressionable than I ever realized. It’s great to see that my daughters are utilizing the same stories that I did in the process of learning to read.
But I don’t dare say that I can picture my grandkids reading and enjoying the same books because I’m just not ready to let time slip that far away from me.
i can understand being focused on family! i don’t think there is any reason to apologize! Life is crazy!