I took the kids to the library the other day, where they shared the train table with a few other toddlers (well, as well as toddlers share anything). Once they were starting to get antsy, but before Camille began wanting to run all over the place, I suggested we go and look for books for mommy. The other moms sitting around immediately took note, "Mommy has time to read?" one of them said, while another chimed in, "What would that be like?"
I would have thought they were joking, but they seemed genuinely perplexed. I almost felt like I should sit down and explain to them that just because you have a toddler doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have some time to yourself, too. But it probably would have come out really condescending, and besides-- I had antsy children and limited time to find books! But honestly, how could you possibly NOT have time to read??? That's like saying you don't have time to breathe, or something.
I've thought about it a lot. Maybe they do other things that interest them more than reading? I have a friend who regularly goes to book club with me-- except she goes in order to guarantee that she gets around to reading at least one book a month. My snarky side, with its 500+ books that I've reviewed on Goodreads wants to feel all superior to her. But the fact is, this friend is also super handy and often busy doing projects that involve power tools and stuff that I never go near. She's also a lot more involved with her children than I tend to be-- she's already taught her young son to read, and they'll often do art projects together or listen to music and discuss it and stuff. I tend to hide away with my book and hope my kids will leave me alone so I can get through at least a few pages uninterrupted.
So I guess all I'm saying is that we all have a finite amount of time and some of us choose to spend that time differently. But for me, I can't imagine EVER not having time to read.
What do you have to spend time doing?
2 comments:
People always ask me how I have so much time to read, and I try to explain it's because I neglect so many other things I should be doing. I mean, why clean the bathroom when I could be reading a novel???
Haha - I "have" to spend my time working (at my dream job. ;) And since my husband also loves his job, that means that H + R "have to" spend a lot of their time playing with their friends all day, but they don't seem to mind. ;) Dave and I both still read a fair bit when the kids are all asleep, and when they're all napping (like now). The one thing I probably don't do enough these days of is spend time with Dave alone.
In any case — I'm not on Goodreads, but I *highly* recommend these from the past few months (in order of strongest recommendation):
-Born a Crime (Trevor Noah's autobiography of growing up in South Africa) - I think you'd really like it; you lived in Namibia for a bit when you were in college right? or am I completely mis-remembering where you were??
-Thank you for being late (Tom Friedman) - it's astonishing how much tech has changed since 2007 that we take for granted now; as a parent it's a compelling read trying to figure out how to best set up my kids for success in the economy 20 years from now
-Strangers in their own land (Arlie Hochschild) - environment + politics in the south
-Hillbilly Elegy (JD Vance's autobiography of growing up in Ohio + Kentucky)
-Lights Out (Ted Koppel) - about how vulnerable our electricity grid is to meddling; he devotes a couple of chapters to the Mormon church towards the end, meeting with representatives and generally praising the preparedness of it's members for disasters
Would love to chat about any / all of the above if ya get 'em on your list. :)
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