Mom, I'm bored?

Summer is about escape from routine. It's about exploring new worlds. It's about being lazy. How can you do all three at the same time? Read a book! And then read another one. And another. Whether you're swaying on a hammock in the dappled shade; smelling like coconut oil on a sandy beach; drifting nowhere on a rubber dinghy; or hiding in a veranda on a rainy day....a book makes summer so much better. 

Mom, I'm bored? Never, not when they've discovered the power of books. 

My publisher, Rebelight, has a summer reading program which  encourages young readers to explore local writers. I'd like to extend the challenge to adults, too.  Read what your kids read and travel with them to these exotic worlds that come alive without pictures, without technology, without anything but mind power. Engage in conversations about what they read, and then review the books like a critic. 

Along with the muscles that grow through biking, hiking and swimming, there are the muscles that grow through reading...it's called imagination. 

Summer's here and the living's easy. Page after page after page. 

Fireworks

I avoided the Canada 150 Fireworks the other night…well maybe I didn’t avoid the explosions, but I avoided the crowds. All around me the sky exploded with light and with noise. It was awesome to sit in the backyard, in the dark, and hear the night sky, rife with sound.  Because I’m reading a book centered around a war, I tried to imagine the explosions of fireworks, as bombs. It truly is hard to imagine what millions upon millions of people have (past and present) experienced…bombs falling around them in the dark. My mom told me of bombs that fell like burning Christmas trees over Königsberg in August, 1944. It sounds pretty…pretty horrific, too.

But last night, here in Canada, is was only my dog and cat who were terrified. When I think of the little children, the innocents, not understanding how one minute there is quiet, and then the next moment, there is only chaos, it baffles my mind. I have this incredibly peaceful life, here in the middle of Canada. It’s early summer. We’ve had lots of rain and everything is a vigorous green. Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, robins, jays, even humming birds visit my yard. The explosions from the other night were celebratory fireworks. There is peace in our country, and yet, this tranquility, this peace is not to be assumed. It is to be appreciated, like summer, like children…fragile, like innocence.