Freedom to Read by Irene Latham

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For a while our family (me, hubby, and three sons) used a box of questions to help guide our Family Supper conversation. Here's one I will never forget:

Which is more important: health, freedom, money or love?

We discussed them all – how poor health limits your freedom, how money gives you freedom, how love IS freedom. Ultimately, though, what we decided was that none of them were worth much without freedom.... which makes freedom the answer for us.

These days, whenever I do a gratitude list, freedom is always on the list. I feel so fortunate to have been born in a country that celebrates freedom, and to parents who believe giving kids the gift of freedom is one of the best ways to nurture them to adulthood.

While I have many stories of how being given the freedom to roam and explore led to a satisfying, imaginative childhood, the memory I'd like to share today comes from the summer I was fourteen. 

I had $25 in babysitting money, and when I went across the street to the neighbor's yard sale, I spent it all on a giant box of romance novels. I lugged the box home and proceeded to read every single one of those steamy-covered Cinderella-trope books. 

My parents never intervened, never said no, you're not old enough. And while I *might* have read some things I wasn't ready for, it was freedom with a capital F. I learned more from THAT than any of the words inside those covers. 

I'm so grateful!