• Home
  • Brooke Burke
  • Must Have
  • Recalls
  • Contributors
  • Contests & Twitter Parties
  • Become An Insider
  • ModernMom Store

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • Ask Dr. Psych Mom
  • Cooking
  • Around The House
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
  • Career
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Hot Topics
You are here: Home / Around The House / The Road to Reading

The Road to Reading

June 25, 2013 by AGoto Leave a Comment

My sister taught me how to read.  Sure, there were a long line of teacher lessons, flash cards and episodes of “Sesame Street” that primed me for the big moment, but those memories are vague and faded – mere baby steps on the grand journey to literacy.  

But I distinctly remember the day it “clicked.”  I was sitting next to my sister on our mom’s beloved crescent-shaped sofa upholstered in “disco gold.”  Jessica had checked out a book from the school library called The Monkey and the Bee and she announced that she could teach me how to read it.

At first, reading was like trying to push a baby stroller across dry sand. I’d get ticked, stop, rub my forehand and then start again.  Meanwhile, Jessica looked patiently over my shoulder, helping only when I asked her to.  Incessantly struggling to position herself as the “big sister” – a role I tried to deny her because of my sheer sibling orneriness – I could see she was giddy with excitement at my progress.  I was excited, too – so much, that I was willing to let her have this big sister moment.  About halfway through the book, I picked up speed, and by the end I was sailing with the ease of a little literati.

Years later, I would compare learning to read with learning to ride my bike.  Dad was cool with Santa and the Easter Bunny, but he didn’t “believe in” God or training wheels.  Consequently, I was a late bike bloomer.  There came a point when it was more difficult to pretend not to know how to ride.  All of the faculties where there – balance, strength, two legs – I just had to be brave enough to get on the dang thing.  When I finally did, I struggled for a few blocks, and then I took off like a bat outta hell.  I rode so fast and happy, gnats lodged in the corners of my eyes and the wind dried out my toothy grin.

It didn’t matter that other people had been riding for centuries.  All that mattered was that I had finally joined the ranks, opening up a whole new world.  The same applied to reading.

I was reminded of that pure, unadulterated feeling of complete accomplishment yesterday when Ava read her first book.

At bedtime, she abruptly snatched her new Tangled book from my hands and announced, “I want to read it.”

“Dude, we are reading it,” I said.

“No, I want to read it to you.”

Because I’m not one to encourage my child to spread her wings and fly, I hadn’t ever considered this possibility.  (Likewise, my child didn’t crawl until 11 months old, something I may have to take some responsibility for.) 

“Uh, okay.”

I put my inner overbearing teacher on hold and channeled my sister, sitting back and letting Ava work through every syllable.  In the half hour it took her to get through 15 pages, she never got frustrated.  She never gave up.  At the end, she smiled widely at me, her eyes sparkling – I imagined I saw little gnats gathered in the corners.

“Let’s read it again!” she said.

She hasn’t stopped since.  This afternoon she lounged on the sofa reading with a stack of books next to her.  At dinner, she read two more books out loud as my husband and I ate.  It’s incredible to watch.  It’s exciting.  It’s something most of us take for granted.  And, like most milestones, it’s a little bittersweet.

Off she goes, riding headfirst into the world with a big, toothy grin.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Around The House

About AGoto

Andrea Goto writes The Culinary Coward, a monthly humor column for PaulaDeen.com about her struggle to become a domestic goddess, or more simply, to cook an edible meal. She writes her own Blog, Mom Without Makeup, which discusses the messy art of modern mothering. Andrea lives and writes in Savannah, Georgia, with her 5-year old daughter (who thinks she's a superhero), her husband (who is a superhero) and one geriatric cat. Andrea Goto
www.andreagoto.com

Contest & Twitter Parties

I Kill Giants $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

Win a Body Glove Performer 11 standup paddleboard

Search

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ModernMom Boutique ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

I Want a Third Child, Except, I Really Don’t

I Want a Third Child, Except, I Really Don’t

Something strange has been happening to me lately:  I keep …[Read More...]

ModernMom TV

Strep Throat Symptoms in Babies

Strep Throat Symptoms in Babies

Children who are past the toddler stage may be perfectly …[Read More...]

Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes in Infants

Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes in Infants

Diabetes can affect individuals of any age, including …[Read More...]

The Calories Burned Sitting in a Steam Sauna for 15 Minutes

The Calories Burned Sitting in a Steam Sauna for 15 Minutes

Sweating the Pounds Off: How Much Weight Can You Lose During …[Read More...]

How Many Calories Does 10,000 Steps Burn?

How Many Calories Does 10,000 Steps Burn?

A decade ago, no one had a specific number in mind when …[Read More...]

How to Detect a Miscarriage

How to Detect a Miscarriage

A miscarriage, the loss of a pregnancy, can be emotionally …[Read More...]

Pregnancy & Signs of Gestational Diabetes

Pregnancy & Signs of Gestational Diabetes

Pregnancy & Signs of Gestational Diabetes Gestational …[Read More...]

How Do Children Overcome a Fear of Water?

How Do Children Overcome a Fear of Water?

While the water proves an enticing playground to some …[Read More...]

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2018 · Mom, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc. The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.