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Friday, March 25, 2011

Learning to read

Last night after the girls had been put to bed we could hear them arguing about something in spite of their hushed tones.

"Give it to me!"

"Nooooo!"

"Give it to me; it's mine!"

"Nooooo!"

"Baby, I said to give it to me. Do it now!"

"Nooooo!"

Daddy intervened.

"Hey, what's going on in here?"

"Miriam took my book and now she won't give it back!" Rachel explained calmly before her voice rose to a wail, "And I made it at school and she's going to ruin it!"

Now, let's just state right here, right now, that I have zero sympathy for Rachel whenever Miriam does something from the confines of her crib. She bit you? Poor you...but how did she manage to reach you when she's in her crib? Didn't think of that, did you? How exactly did she get your book? Could it be that you were taunting her with it and she reached out and snatched it from you? Because otherwise she wouldn't have been able to reach it. Anyway...

Andrew, likewise, held very little sympathy for Rachel.

"I'm just going to take the book away and put it over here on the dresser. It's time to go to bed."

"But I need that book!" Rachel claimed.

"Why?"

"How am I ever going to learn how to read if you don't let me practice?" she pleaded.

That melted Daddy's heart. He often stayed up late at night to read books after he was supposed to be sleeping and if Rachel's intentions were really pure, if she really wanted to read, how could he say no? He handed Rachel the book instead of putting it on the dresser.

It was only after he left the room that he remembered that this particular book of Rachel had no words in it, but we heard her "reading" it to Miriam, anyway.

"1...2...3...4..." Rachel recited.

Yes, it was a book of numbers, which I suppose is kind of like practicing reading. But not really.

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