Gifts for All

Today, the Catholic Church in America celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany.  We, here, have moved many major feasts to the Sunday of the week it falls in.  We're a very busy country, quite out of the habit of daily Mass.  Mea culpa.

The kids did not have Sunday School, I did not have Children's Liturgy of the Word, I was not scheduled to read.  Still, we got there early.  The kids were about to dash off to the choir room to get their Maginifikids missalette, when I suddenly knew I had to go with them.

Micki would be on a King-hunt.

For Epiphany, our church gets three kids to wear capes and crowns, and to join the procession with the gifts to present at the manger.  The adults seem to think it's cute.  The kids seem to avoid it.  My two did it last year. They declined Micki's offer to be kings again.  (DLG is not keen on being a "king" since she's a girl.)  Micki asked if I would look for the kings.

Carl asked when I knew I knew I was going to be helping with today's liturgy.  "Five minutes ago."

I recruited three kings, and got them decked out.  I explained to them what they would do.  I refreshed the head usher on what the kids would do.  I set up the book and stand at the ambo and altar.  I noted that no one was there for CLoW, so I had to alert folks on for that.  I counted readers... oh, there's one... but Janie said that her reading partner was sick, so I offered to do the second reading.  And the deacon's broken foot was aching him and it hurt to go up and down stairs, could the first reader bring up the book?  Well, Janie had already sat down, but since I was shepherding the kings, I'd carry the book.  My family sat in the pew behind the kings, so I could lead them to their spots for the offertory, and then cue when they were to join the recessional.

Father Louis' homily was about us bringing our gifts to the King of Kings. We have something more precious to offer than gold, frankincense and myrrh.  We can offer ourselves and our talents.

Glad to.

How To Train a Reader

First, sit the small child in your lap.

Next, open a book.

Lastly, read aloud.

Repeat.


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I started reading to MLB as early as I could, and he was enchanted.  He tried to eat or shred several books.  And only threw up on one.  They were all salvageable.

He quickly "decoded" & was self-taught reading by age three. When people asked for tips to help their kids, I'd shrug-- I just read to him, that's all.

I honestly didn't read to DLG as much as an infant.  She was very active or very snuggly; within moments of sitting down with a book, she'd be ready to bail.  With MLB in kindergarten with his shiny new diagnosis of ADHD & Autism, I just let things roll with her.

At Christmas, though, one book caught her attention: "Who Is Coming to Our House?"  It's the arrival of Mary & Joseph and the birth of Jesus, as told by a little barn mouse who is readying the other animals.  Maybe it was the sweet and soft realism of the animal illustrations.  Maybe it was soft and discrete voices I used.  Maybe it was just her time to settle down, now that she had this walking thing going so she could keep up with big brother.  Whichever it was, she wanted her gift from her Godfather Rick read to her everyday.  I have a lovely picture of my dad finally getting her to snuggle up for a story.  After that, she was always bringing her Paw-Paw a book.  (I bought, post season, a Hallmark ornament of a big polar bear reading to a little polar bear.  Aww....)

She self-taught at age four, and became proficient at age five when she got glasses for her near-sightedness.

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I grew up having books read to me.  I self-taught by kindergarten.  My house was filled with shelves and shelves of my parent's books.  I eagerly looked forward to ordering from my Scholastics flyer and reading my new books.  I was a library mouse.

With books being even more affordable nowadays, especially used books, I thoroughly indulge in buying books.  Mostly for the kids, but sometimes for me, the schools and as gifts.

My daughter received a boxed set of "Ivy + Bean" books for Christmas from my Mom.  She's read most of them by now.  My son received Book #12 in the "How to Train Your Dragon" series.  He's previously read 1-7; we only own two used copies, and the rest have been checked out from the library.  But I know how he loves to reread his favorite books....

UPS brought the HtTYD boxed set for him today.  It's like a FOURTH Christmas for someone.  Thank you, Amazon Prime!

There is a very happy Hairy-Hooligan deep in book 8.

NYD

So people go around making New Year's Resolutions.

I'm resolved that I'll do things when I'm good and ready.

Or when I just "haf" to.

But this year, I'm going work better on the use-it-or-lose-it plan.

First on that list is my food stuffs.  I'm pitching those five-year-old jars of homemade (not by me) pickles.  I've got better uses for those Mason jars.

Happy New Year, y'all.  Keep sparkling!