we are sitting on the porch reading
we are fighting off mosquitoes dive bombing in on us
it’s 87 degrees and the air is thick with pollen and we are surely in the South

I am reading to my growing babes with a Southern accent
yes, this Armenian Canadian girl living in the South is using a Southern accent as I read

I am laughing
My little ones love it
this novel requires the accent
the writer deftly drawing us in, these charming, delightful characters with their y’alls and might coulds
this is the kind of book you just don’t want to put down

Oh Mama, please keep reading

We don’t want the story to end; we have come to love these characters, to really care about their stories
but I have come to the very last page
And I am purposely reading  v e r y  s l o w l y

And then I come to the very last sentence and it is so very moving, and our story is done.

We are finished and we are all silent for a good few minutes.
They are all leaning into me, my arms holding them close as we just stop and sit and breathe…

My first Little Lady pipes up

Oh Mama…what will happen to her next?  I want to know what will happen to her next

My second Little Lady takes the book and begins reading it all over again from the very beginning…the story has touched her heart.  The story has touched all our hearts.  Even Little Man has been completely engaged.   We have learned about loss and pain and acceptance and peace.  We have laughed and cried.

Oh, these stories.  Oh, these characters that become our friends.  I just don’t like saying good bye to friends, even friends in books.  And my little ones are becoming the same…

I’m going to miss her, Mama

Me, too, my Little Ones, me, too…
We all lean back and stay there on the porch and just breathe some more

I’m going to miss all of this

Tags: family, good books, homeschooling, read aloud, reading, South, southern, the South