The Lively Reading of Living Books

When Phil and I met, he had very little experience with children.  Sure, he wanted to have fourteen babies when we got married, but I think it would be safe to wager that he probably hadn't even been around a baby fourteen TIMES at that point.  He was the youngest child in his family, cousins included, and had very little chance for interaction with young children.

I always knew he would be the best Daddy ever.  He had the kindest heart and oldest soul of anyone I had ever met.  And wisdom - lots and lots of wisdom.  Tremendous capacity to love, too.  He had everything I wanted for a Daddy to my babies, and more!

There were a few LITTLE things, however, that worried me.  He didn't know how to hold babies (the first time I handed him my baby brother he held him a foot away from his body and said, "What do I DO with him?").  He really wasn't that great at having conversations with little kids.  And his read aloud voice was HORRIBLE!

We now have five children, and almost all of the original concerns that I had as a 16-year-old girl about Phil's parenting ability had been alleviated.  He holds a baby like an old pro now - even able to multi task while carrying a newborn!  Haven't seen the old "I'm-scared-I-might-break-it" look in years. ;)

He can also now talk to any kid of any age about any thing.  He is funny and witty and loving and attentive and everything a two-year-old could possibly need in a listening ear!

But the reading ... O, alas ... the reading!

I had given up for the longest time on asking Phil to read to the kids.  I think because he had never read aloud to a kid before, he would just read as if he was reading in his head and mumble through the story.  No change in tone, voice so low it was barely audible, no exclamations or voice changes for different characters; it was painful for me to listen to.  Books are my THING ... to hear them read like that just plain hurt.

The other night I needed to get ready to head out the door to grab a few things for our upcoming camping trip before we put the trailer down.  I wanted Phil to distract the kids so I wouldn't get bombarded with requests to come with me, but it wasn't quite bed time.  I asked him to grab a few library books and take them all back to their room so that I could get ready without distraction.  What I heard coming from the back of the house made me choke up...

It was my man, reading those library books to the kids with more heart and energy and excitement than I had EVER read to them!  He was reading David Shannon's Good Boy, Fergus!, and you would have thought there was actually a dog named Fergus in the back room!  All four of the older kids were laughing and squealing and completely enthralled by the simple yet entertaining book ... but, more importantly, by the lively way their Daddy was reading it to them.

It was more than I could stand!  I wanted to go back there and grab that man and kiss him square on the lips!!!  To a book addict like myself, hearing him read to the kids like that was better than chocolate or candy or roses! :)  I love him more than anything - always have and always will - but, as Mary Poppins would say, I do believe he now is "practically perfect in every way."  ;)