The Best Gifts

I just finished reading "Open" the Andre Agassi Autobiography (Thanks mom!). This is a highly recommended book for anyone who watched even a little bit of tennis back in the 90's when Andre, Pete Sampras, and all the hot shot American guys were in their prime. But aside from that, it is a very telling story about what is important in life.

Andre dropped out of school in the 9th grade to focus entirely on tennis. His father actually encouraged this decision. He had driven Andre since he was walking to be the best tennis player in the world. Mike Agassi saw school as interfering in his child's real education which was to be found on the tennis court.

Andre talks late in the book about his joy of reading, and how late in life he discovered it because he dropped out of school. It's a shame, as reading I think is one of the best gifts we can give our children, and Agassi's dad essentially kept that from Andre.

I am quite the opposite, I had a joy of reading instilled in me at a very early age. I have always been a big reader, I remember my dad on the couch with a book in hand, and I took most of my early favorites off of his book case. Without my dad's Joy of reading I might never have discovered Robert Heinlein, Steven King, and countless other authors whose books I have read over the years.

My hope is to instill that same joy of reading in Aiden. I think we are doing pretty well with that so far, as Aiden always wants to hear a story before bed, and most days he falls asleep for his nap holding onto his favorite book. He is very much like daddy in that regard, I can't go to sleep without at least reading a couple of paragraphs of a book. sometimes falling asleep with the book still grasped in my hands.

One of the things that is helping us with encouraging Aiden to read is Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Every month Aiden gets a brand new book in the mail, and will continue to do so until he is five years old. It's a nice way to expand his book collection and give him new pages to explore. Would we have books for Aiden without this wonderful gift? Yes, we would. But there are families out there who wouldn't, and I think organizations like this that inspire our children to learn are phenomenal.

You all know I don't typically use this space to endorse any products or services. Every now and then I do get emails from people who want me to write about this that or the other thing. It is not that I am opposed to the idea of writing about these things, but none of the ones who have contacted me want me to write about anything that has to do with my family and the raising of a child. The Imagination Library has not asked me for any sort of endorsement, but I feel like this organization is worth a mention. If you have a child who is under 5 years old and have not already done so, go to the website and sign your child up for some books. Or, if you feel so compelled, head on over to the website and make a donation to the organization so that more children can enjoy the gift of reading. You can do either at: http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com

Thanks as always for reading. Should have some good pictures to share after this weekend with a visit from Mimi and Papaw.

Big Photo update

It's kind of feast or famine around this blog. Either there are lots and lots of photos and videos to share, or there is essentially nothing. Today it is the former. Aiden and I discovered a new way to spend these long cold winter days. A place called Monkey Joe's full of inflatable play areas and games fit for ages 2-12. Now maybe a Saturday was not the best time to discover this little gem as it was pretty darn crowded, but Aiden had a blast, and daddy got a good work out following him around the place. So below are a bunch of pictures from that excursion. A few others to start out with though. We were folding laundry last week when Aiden grabbed one of my shirts and proceeded to climb into it. That just had to be documented. And a few pictures from the snow last week. we couldn't make a snow man, but we could make snow balls for Aiden to hit off of his tee. He thought that was the funniest thing.

Without further ado, the images of the week!