On being “real”
The Christmas holidays remind
me most of being a little girl. My sister and I waking up to full stockings
that our mother had sewn little cats on, hanging on our retro electric
fireplace.
My aunt always gifted us books.
Oh, how I looked forward to Aunt Mary’s books! They were always new, with a
special inscription from her. The pages were glossy or rough, and they smelled
like the printing press. Shiny hardback covers or paperbacks as we got older.
Now that I have a niece, I am
always sure to gift her a book at Christmas and at her birthday. A lifetime of
collected books are a treasured thing to look back on. As I do this, this
holiday season, I see my very life play out before me.
Here’s The Polar Express, when I still believed in Santa Claus. And Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus for
the year that came when I didn’t. Practical
Magic when I was a teenager and starting to read adult novels. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
when my aunt thought I could use a trip back to childhood magic. And of course,
The Velveteen Rabbit, when I had a
pet bunny named Violet.
The Velveteen Rabbit is told by
the Skin Horse that when you are truly loved, not just played with, you become
real. Like the beloved Skin Horse, many of my childhood books are well past
worn and broken in. With weak bindings and bent pages and scratches on the
covers.
It is in this way so many of
these books have become real to me – part of my own life, or part of my way of
thinking or beliefs. These books and so many others have become like trusted
friends, ones I return to over and over for guidance or advice or simply the memories.
Happy holidays and happy
reading!
Nothing sadder than an unopened book. Well-worn volumes have more than one story to tell.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! <3
ReplyDeleteNot sure if summer or the holidays are better reading seasons!
ReplyDelete