Aren't you looking darling? Why, yes, I am well. Thanks for asking. Yourself?
Alright, enough of that. Sorrynotsorry for the extended hiatus, I've been a busy monkey. My boyfriend and I just bought a house, and while we've only owned it for just over a week, it's already eating up my remaining time and brain power. Mostly my brain power. I keep joking at work, saying that nobody is going to want to visit us back in Kitchens--customers or associates--because we will soon be the grumpiest members of the store. My coworker is about to have a baby (well, his girlfriend is...) and is also in the process of moving and renovating. I'm not sure which is more stressful. Either way, you get the picture.
So this long awaited post stems from this question: What is your first memory of books? Those of you who know me, know that I am full of anecdotes and stories, that I generally have an oddly specific memory of events. So, if I'm honest, my first memory might be of my mom reading "Goodnight Moon" or "Love You Forever" (she even sang the song), but I think a much better story is how I learned to read.
Elementary school was an interesting experience for me. I loved it, don't get me wrong. I just realize that not every kindergartener called her teacher by her first name, in a school housed in a...well, house...with approximately 42 students. I also realize that not many children are encouraged to be different, think outside of the government mandated box, or actually enjoyed going to school like I did. While this is all well and good, it puts me a little out of touch with how everyone else learned to read. So if this sounds like something totally normal, I'm sorry.
Learning to read at Mulberry School (complete with mulberry bush out front) went something like this: every week we walked down to the public library and selected a book. Over the course of the week, we took the book home and worked with our parents on our reading skills. At the end of the week, our teacher would have an individual sit down with each one of us, and we would show her our progress by reading out loud.
My favorite book to check out was "Sarah's Unicorn." In short, it was about this girl, Sarah, who befriends a unicorn named Oakhorn. There's something about an evil aunt who wants to steal Oakhorn, but I can't really remember. It's been awhile.
Anyway, I loved this book so much, I memorized it. I fooled my mom, my dad, even myself, into thinking that I knew how to read (but really, what is reading but fast remembering???). I did not, however, fool my teacher. Mostly because, as I am apt to do in these sorts of situations, I came down with a serious case of stage fright. My young self miiiight (no way in Hell...) have gotten away with it, if she hadn't gotten too creative with the story. I think at some point Sarah and Oakhorn may have gone flying off into the sunset.
Duh, Aeryn. Unicorns don't fly. That's Pegasus. And my second favorite book to check out from the library at age 5. I'm sensing a theme here...
Now that I really think about it, I have some pretty excellent stories from Mulberry. Maybe I will share them in time. They are just not the same without hand motions and actually hearing my tangential interjections. Maybe I'll start a vlog? Would anyone be into that? Does anyone care that it would have terrible editing? Probably.
