My day was already off to a bad start, and it was only 9:30 a.m.
The heavy feeling in my chest came from the burden of all I had to do. Looking around my house I had a visual reminder of those to-dos: bills to pay, books to put away, papers to trash, toilets to clean, floors to sweep, laundry to put away.
I knew one sure cure for that feeling of dread. I’d just get to work. An hour of hard work usually helps chase away the foreboding feeling. I could unbind the cobwebs that were surrounding my heart as I literally removed them from around my home; clear the dust bunnies out of my mind as I uncovered their hiding places behind the furniture.
So I completed some tasks, and although things looked better, I didn’t feel as victorious and clear-headed as I had hoped.
I had about an hour before I had to pick Kyle up from preschool. I grabbed my book and headed to Starbucks, where I treated myself to a cup of coffee and a cookie. The caffeine and the sugar helped to calm me down and perk me up, I’m sure, but I’m certain that the forty-five minutes of distraction that I received as I got lost in the pages of a good book helped even more.
While I’m reading, I can’t think of what needs to be done. I can’t think of what I’ve done wrong that day, or dwell on decisions that I have to make. Instead, I appreciate a beautifully written phrase, or my heart beats faster as I am caught up in a character’s conflict. My mouth smiles; I laugh out loud. Even tears cried at the expense of a fictional character’s fate can be a cathartic release.
I’ve found that it works for my children as well. As pre-adolescent hormones rage through my ten-year-old daughter’s body, she often loses control — yelling at me or her brother, or breaking into unexplained tears. “You’d better go to your room before you get yourself into (even more) trouble,” I warn her. When I go up to check on her, she’s usually tucked into her beanbag chair with a book. When she comes back downstairs, she usually apologizes and admits that she needed a break.
The reading remedy doesn’t just work for us girls. When my four-year-old son Kyle is overly tired or overly feisty and he doesn’t know what to do with himself, he rarely says no to a book. We get lost in the Hundred Acre Wood, and soon he’s forgotten his frustrations after laughing at Pooh’s silly verses or questioning a new vocabulary word or admiring Ernest Shepherd’s drawings. The reading doesn’t only calm him. The act of reading aloud — especially the soothing lines of a children’s book — reminds me that I love being his mom.
Yes, indeed. For me and mine, I’m not sure anything chases away a case of the blues or the to-dos like a good book.
Managing Editor Jennifer Donovan wishes that she could read all day every day, but she manages to squeeze her responsibilities in as well. She blogs at Snapshot about life with her tween daughter and preschool son.
Alicia says
Reading is a remedy to so many things! Great post!
Judy S says
So true, and what better way to create a lifelong love of reading. As an retired teacher, that makes my heart sing!
Carrie, Reading to Know says
This is a spectacularly beautifully written post, Jennifer! It’s golden and I loved it.
Dawn says
Nicely done, nicely done! I understand this one so much, but I wish I could learn to better silence the ‘guilt voice’ when I choose to read instead of doing chores or attending to the ever-growing to do list. Maybe I need to start drinking coffee– is that the trick? 🙂
Lindsay says
nice post Jennifer. I really enjoyed reading it and really agreed. Not much can change my day like a cup of coffee and a good book 🙂
Katrina says
I just enjoyed a little reading remedy yesterday, myself. It is amazing how different “escape” into a good book is better and more fulfilling than “escape” into my laptop (which can be fun, but can also compound stress).