TEACH YOUR CHILD TO READ IN 100 EASY LESSONS

I spent hours at my mother's side suffereing through each painstaking lesson of vowels and consonants and heaven knows what else. This book is the the earliest book to ever appear in my life.

I can read today because my mother spent so many hours when I was a child with her finger running along the bottom of sentences so that I could follow along.


Let's take a moment to appreciate reading.

Combining text messages, emails, facebook status updates, menus, signs, mapquest instructions, the rolling news update on the bottom of the CNN channel, song lyrics, blogposts, and let's not to fail to mention newspapers and books; YOU have probably read just as much as Shakespeare did. And you are probably capable of reading all of Shakespeare's work. (That's kind of a big deal.)

I remember one particular afternoon when I was at my mothers side reading a book I had brought home for school for homework. It was just a dinky "See Spot Run" type of book and I remember looking at the letters:

Although I was a good reader for my age, I didn't recognize this word. I sounded out each letter with my finger under each letter.

That's about when my mother turned to me and said, "It's 'glad'. You should know your own name. You should know who you are."

For whatever reason "glad" didn't register as "Glad". (I think something had to do with the way I always write my "a"s like an O with a stick, not that funny typed "a".)

But my mother had a good point: "You should know who you are." I am fortunate to know who I am. I am Marcindra LaPriel Glad. I have a knack for connecting to people and appreciating new things. I love orange juice. Sometimes I need a kick in the pants (metaphorically.) I walk by faith, run with ideas, and stand by my values. I always have a joke up my sleeve and I never, never, ever "boo" the other team or the referees.

And...

I can read.