a moment in time

In our nightly whirlwind routine of feeding three children, bathing and pajama-ing the two littlest ones, then setting up the third with a shower, followed by various stories and chapter books read aloud, there hardly ever seems to be a chance to breathe, let alone reflect on the beauty of the actual moment. Last night, however, I had a clear vision, a freeze-this-moment-in-time sort of thought. I usually read to the baby and the toddler while the big kid is showering, but last night was a bit off since we would not be needing to get going in our normal fashion in the morning, due to school being closed for the primaries. So, big kid was let off the shower-hook for the night, and I invited him to read with us. I picked a book that I hoped would extend over the 7 year spread of ages, and we plunged right in.


As we read, it was almost as if I was in two places at once. I was lying on the floor with the little ones next to me and the big kid sitting behind us, but I could also see us all together, as if I had stepped out of my body to become an observer. I witnessed the big kid pointing out the rhyming and rhythm of the text. I watched the toddler point to all the animal characters and make their corresponding farm animal noises. (Her pig sound is a bit questionable, but we'll cut her some slack for now...) I saw the baby kick his feet with excitement and his eyes became two huge saucers as he stared intently at the bright illustrations. I saw myself surrounded by three funny kids who all seem to have been born with an intrinsic love for books, each fully engaged and immersed in the simple story.


What a testement to a children's book- keeping such a wide age range worth of children interested and entertained, including the big kid who's normally reading chapter books written for much older children, not to mention making a mommy's day. I think we'll have to rearrange our regular nightly schedule so as to allow for more readings together as a foursome. Those are the memories I want to keep.