Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's my mom's birthday today. I credit my mom and my Grandma Kulp for my love of reading. I was read to every day of my life until I learned to read on my own. At least that's what it felt like. I am sure there were days and times when my mom told me she didn't have time to read to me just then. But that's not what I remember.

I remember snuggling up on the couch with 8 or 10 books (the maximum amount of library books I was allowed to check out at one time) and having my mom read to me. She read with drama and gusto and she didn't skip pages or try to make the story shorter than it actually was, even if it was the kazillionth time she'd read the story. My dad used to try to pull that trick on us. He'd make up his own story to go along with pictures or skip whole lines and pages to try to get through the book faster. Of course, it didn't work because mom had already read the book to us a kazillion times and we knew it by heart.

Anyway, Mom, I started a little painting for you. It's nothing special but it gives me pleasure to dabble in paint a little bit every evening before I go to bed to read myself to sleep. Here's a sneak peek. I'm not happy with it yet, but when I am, I'll let the paint dry and send it to you.

Thanks for sharing your love of language and story with me.

Happy Birthday!