Walking, talking and reading

Walking home

On Monday I took a break to walk to meet the boys after school. They generally ride the bus home, but the stop is quite a ways from our house. I used to always meet them (or more often in cold weather, drive to pick them up), but now they are old enough to walk home together. (Other kids get off and walk, too.)

I love the fact that I don’t “have” to go out to get them anymore. I used to sometimes view it as an “interruption”- always had to be watching the clock while working to make sure I was there on time. I’ve mentioned before, but for some reason, the later afternoon hours tend to be my favorite, most focused work hours (between ~1-5:00ish), so I sometimes resent distractions then.

But while I do appreciate the boys being ABLE to walk home on their own and let themselves in (especially if I’m extra busy), I really do love walking to meet them. It’s just a long enough walk- ~10-12 minutes probably- and they are always very chatty at that time. (On Monday, they were actually fighting over who got the chance to talk about their day first.)

If I wait for them to get home, I usually get about two words about their day and that’s it. So, now that it’s spring, I want to make an effort to walk to meet them more often. 🙂 The fresh air and walk is good for me anyway.

Obsessively reading….

Asher has been OBSESSIVELY reading a new series (actually one he got for Christmas, but hadn’t gotten around to starting yet). It’s called Land of Stories and came highly recommended from his best swim buddy.

He is seriously obsessed. I think he has completed 3 of the books in the past few days alone. He told me last night that he read something like 374 pages yesterday. I did have to ask…..Are you paying attention at school??!?!?! (Both of my boys have been known to “get in trouble” occasionally for reading during class or some other activity…..).

He said yes, that he just read before, during breaks, on the bus, and then of course last night.

Of the two boys, Ethan is the one who is more likely to become completely engrossed in a series, so I’m happy to see that Asher is so enamored with this one, too.

(Side Note: I just went to Amazon to grab the link above for Land of Stories. I happened to see in the sidebar that there is a Young Readers adaptation for The Boys in the Boat!!!! I am so excited- totally buying that for the boys. I recently read the regular version and it was SO GOOD. Such an inspirational story of grit and perseverance. The original is probably a little long/dense for them, so this version might be perfect.)

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a good day yesterday. Productive, enjoyable, balanced.