Learning to Read

I  remember reading all the time when I was in elementary school. I loved to visit our small town library, check out books, and read each of them cover to cover. I remember reading in junior high - books like Nancy Drew  and Sweet Valley High. I can't remember when I stopped reading for pleasure, but I think it was in high school when I was too busy doing whatever it is that you do in high school. Then, in college, I read text books and many of the classics that were required for my English minor. I honestly didn't have time or energy to read for pleasure.

Now that I work full time and have three kids, I try to read for pleasure, and I end up falling asleep. I do enjoy reading, and I feel a great deal of satisfaction when I finish a book, but that doesn't happen very often. In fact, many times it takes me a year or two to finish a book...

Thankfully, my children have always loved books. Nicholas was an early reader, who even in high school still reads for pleasure. Olivia is an avid reader, who just finished 200 books/chapters for school this year. Evan loves books, especially before bed when read by his Dad.

Tonight, I was reading a book with Evan, and he asked me to stop. When I stopped, he literally took over and read the rest of the page. Then he read the next page, and the next page, and the next page. I'm not exactly sure if he was really reading or if he had memorized the words, but he definitely recognized and read some of the words. Either way, I was proud, overwhelmed, amazed, and hopeful. Evan's stroke happened on the left side of his brain - the side that controls reading and memory for spoken and written messages. One of the most difficult parts of dealing with Evan's stroke is that we don't know how much he is affected until he reaches or doesn't reach a milestone. And, I consider this a HUGE milestone. So, the special thing about Evan today is that he is reading or memorizing, and it doesn't really matter which one!

OLIVIA'S STREAK