Seizing the Day...

My daughter came down with a wicked case of stomach flu...fever, aches, constant upset stomach...all makings for a horrible day. I kept her home from school and cancelled my art classes (a bit bummed...I was planning on doing my Gustav Klimt lesson!). The day was cold, windy and generally unseasonable for Santa Barbara.

Elly was quite depressed because she was supposed to have been in the Christmas Parade later on. It would have been her first time and after many years of seeing her brothers in the parade , she was looking forward to her turn. She settled on the couch and began watching Tivo'd episodes of Hannah Montana.

Since I had planned on going to work that day, I didn't feel pressed to get anything done. So I grabbed three books off my shelf and sat next to Elly. I turned off the TV and read the first chapter from each novel. I asked her to chose which one was her favorite. She chose "Ella Enchanted". I was glad. I had read this book years ago and loved Gail Carson Levine's retelling of Cinderella.

I turned on our fireplace and began reading. The book has a great realoud quality and before I knew it, Elly snuggled next to me. She was like a little hot water bottle pressing up against me, keeping us both toasty warm and utterly happy.

I used to read novels to my kids all the time. They were like magic when the kids were irritable, soothing them with the sound of my voice. I still remember my little boys draped across my lap like little puppies. We read "Charlotte's Web" and later, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and then "The Series of Unfortunate Events" when it wasn't quite a series yet and many, many others.

Elly and I read many books for our Mother/Daughter Book Club but lately, we hadn't indulged.

Hannah Montana her biggest interest.

But after chapter four, my daughter looked up at me and said "This is the best sick day ever."

I couldn't have agreed more.

We read for most of the day, stopping only to discuss the differences between book and film...how Ella seemed much younger in the book and how the book is much, much better (yeah!).

For the next two days, Elly's condition worsen and she couldn't concentrate on my voice. We read the book in bits, page by page until she fell asleep.

Today is Monday and Elly is better. Still home from school but she is on the mend. The first thing she said this morning was "Can we read Ella?"

You betcha!

Books still have the magic....