Traditions...it's the stuff memories are made of

Today, I've been a bit under the weather. The kind that keeps you to your bed and has you wanting to call in a Mommy sick day.

As I was laying in bed, it brought to mind the sick days of my childhood. Specifically those I had when I lived in the Philippines.

Things may have changed since the 70s, but television programming consisted of anime cartoons, japanese soap operas, and the occasional Grizzly Adams or Here's Boomer on Sundays. As a result, my sister and I spent much of our time playing outdoors or reading books. Our mom was very supportive of our reading addiction, and every time I was sick in bed it seemed I had a new Nancy Drew mystery to read.

She always fostered a love of reading in us, and when we moved back to America the reading tradition continued. We would gather and tuck ourselves into the corners of my parent's water bed and mom would read aloud to us from chapter books. She even read to us in the car on family road trips. I can't say that I ever remember a time when my mom didn't have a book on her nightstand or perhaps in her purse to read when she got the chance.

Even though there are plenty of diversions available and much more variety in tv programming, the tradition of read-alouds now continues in my own family.

In the summer we gather on the deck and the children snuggle into patio chairs, or we all lay on the tramp together - everyone rolling into the middle next to me, while I read to them by flashlight and they look out into the stars.

When the weather turns colder, they tuck themselves into the comfy corners of the family room sofas and draw, work at handiwork, or just wrap up in a blanket and listen.

Sometimes, just for fun, I pick a book just for them and read to each child alone in their room - cuddling up with the younger ones. I like to think I am passing on the "love of reading" torch to my children and hope that when they become parents, the tradition will continue in their own families.

I wrote this post as my entry for Scribbit's Write Away contest. If you'd like to enter, this month's theme is Traditions. (You have until midnight Saturday).