My father passed away last Tuesday. He was 93. My mother passed away in 2007. I know that my love of books, the joy I find in stories, the way my curiosity is fed by books is because my parents read to me from an early age, so this post is dedicated to my parents who taught me to love reading.
One of my very first memories is sitting in church. I was probably squirming as little kids do, and I remember my mom pulling out one of those small baby books and showing me the pictures. She had several books in her purse when I was younger and she continued to do so after my sister was born. We began appreciating books at an early age!
My mother was a high school English teacher and she was also on the debate team in college so her love of words ran pretty deep. She loved word puzzles and one of my favorite memories is her sitting in her chair, a puzzle book on her lap and a pencil in hand with a slight frown of concentration on her face.
When I was little, Golden Books were a staple and of course various Bible story books, but as I grew older we switched to chapter books and my favorites were Heidi and The Little Prince. I looked forward to our nightly ritual of reading and sometimes I would beg my mom to read the next chapter to me when I crawled into bed with them early in the morning, impatient to hear what happened next. I don’t remember my mom falling for that very often, but when my dad was reading to me it often worked!
Dad read different kinds of books. He liked nature and adventure stories, so we read this fascinating book about a beaver of which I have vivid memories but cannot for the life of me remember the title. We also read a children’s version of Call of the Wild. I remember we both got choked up at various points of that story and cried together over what happened to Buck. Then there were the magazines that Dad got. He subscribed to Popular Mechanics and Popular Science and when one of them came in the mail he would sit in his big chair and I would sit on his lap and we would look through the magazine together while he explained what the various pictures showed and what new things were being invented.
One of my dad’s favorite books to read to us was Dr. Goat, where a goat who is a doctor rides his bicycle, making his rounds caring for sick animals until he himself gets sick and then all the animals come and take care of him.
Dad loved to mix up the words or make voices for the various animals when he read, which made both my sister and I laugh. He read that book so many times I memorized it and when I was too old, he read it to my sister. It was a bit tattered but very well loved.
Just recently, Dad asked us if we still had that book. One of the families in his church often came to visit him and they had small children and he wanted to read it to them. My sister found it and gave it to him. It was one of the first things we found in his apartment after he passed away and of course we kept it.
Brenda's Bookshelf 
Thank you for the wonderful posts (An Ode To My Parents). I have enjoyed reading all your post, but this is my favorite. I too have lost both parents. My Mon was the one that read to us and this post stirred up a lot of wonderful memories. I am sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your heart. – mark
On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 9:45 AM Brenda’s Bookshelf wrote:
> bseat posted: “My father passed away last Tuesday. He was 93. My mother > passed away in 2007. I know that my love of books, the joy I find in > stories, the way my curiosity is fed by books is because my parents read to > me from an early age so this post is dedicated to my” >
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Thanks, Mark! It is hard to lose our parents, but it helps to have wonderful memories!
Thanks for being such a faithful reader of my blog. I appreciate knowing people find this blog useful and or entertaining.
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Brenda, I posted on your blog, but unfortunately it didn’t post. I just wanted to say how touched I was by this sweet ode to your parents, and how amazed I was that you found time to write it during these busy day after your father’s passing. This Ode will be a treasure for your and Sharon’s children. Love, junemom
On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 9:45 AM Brenda’s Bookshelf wrote:
> bseat posted: “My father passed away last Tuesday. He was 93. My mother > passed away in 2007. I know that my love of books, the joy I find in > stories, the way my curiosity is fed by books is because my parents read to > me from an early age so this post is dedicated to my” >
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Lovely memories, Brenda. Such a gift to share with all of us who love you so. Such a blessing.
I could feel the warmth and love and security you must’ve felt as your mother or father held you on their lap and read to you.
May you feel our virtual hugs offering comfort and quiet joy as you remember, as you grieve, as you celebrate these parents who loved you so. Thank you for letting us in during this tender time.
Nancy
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks, Nancy for the virtual hugs!
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Thanks, Brenda, for this touching tribute to your parents and their/your love for books.
I hope you will take good care of “Dr. Goat.” I just now checked on Amazon.com, and the cheapest copy of that book they have for sale is $400! (I don’t remember ever having/reading that book to our Kids.)
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