Several months ago I finally got back into reading for fun. For a while I had put that wonderful pastime aside due to taking care of kids, husband, house, ect. I never should have put it aside! It's so refreshing. I love to pick up a good fantasy novel, and drift into a different world for a few minutes. It makes me feel younger again, like I'm still that teenage girl stretched out on her bed reading away an afternoon. Don't worry, I don't let it block out my responsibilities (who could block out those two noisy little responsibilities? ;). I found that in those few years of not reading much, my vocabulary was truncated. After picking up books again it has improved dramatically. It's hard to keep up much of a vocabulary when you mainly communicate to darling kids under the age of 5. It's important though. In our culture, where everything is becoming so dumbed down, we need to step up and teach our kids big, beautiful, and accurate words. I was slightly shocked (horrified, really) when my husband informed me that in a training class at his work that they were told that everything they write should be at a 5th grade level. It seems that that's about the level most adults operate under now. My husband brought up a good point: If the 5th grade is the level they operate/communicate at, then why bother schooling any farther? Obviously, the school system doesn't work! But alas, I'm off on a bunny trail....or am I? Maybe it all boils down to books, and the love (or lack thereof) of them. Books used to be one of the main sources of entertainment, but not anymore. Everywhere you look now there are screens. Screens taking over the real sights and sounds of this world. There's nothing wrong with them, but there are just too many, and they're increasing! Increasing in number, increasing in intensity, and increasing in quality, which is probably the main reason they are increasing. We need to wake up people! Get your face away from the screen and look out the window! What do you see? What do you smell? (If you're at my house you will likely smell a dirty diaper or a dog fart, or some forgotten old food in the corner. Haha no it's not really that bad). People can get lost in books as well, and forget the world around them, but it's not as intrusive as screens tend to be. Ok. Nuff said. G'night.
