The Love Affair Begins


I remember very vividly the winter I discovered that I could be transported by a book to another place. I was in 6th grade. The school librarian came to expect me every lunch period. I would pick up a new book at lunch, start reading it on the bus home. I would arrive at my empty house well into the story. I would quickly finish my homework so that I could crawl into my bed turn on the electric blanket and get sucked back into a story. I usually read deep into the night because I hated to not finish the story. Sometimes I ended up trying to finish it on the bus back to school.
I remember falling in love with books and wanting to spend all my time reading. Books kept me entertained during the long flights overseas with my family. They expanded my world while I waited in line. They showed me that people could be so much more than what everyone expected of them.   It sounds like it would be a good thing but if you ask my mom she would tell you that it was maddening. Trying to get me to leave a Turkish prison to come to dinner, or come off the deck of a ship to clean my room was a constant trial for her. My love affair with books only got more intense as I got older. In college I often found myself torn between studying and “just finishing the next chapter”. When I moved out of my parent’s house the true extent of my obsession became very clear. When my Queen sized bed was moved the entire floor was covered three deep in books. My mom said she felt like she had just found all the empties from an alcoholic.
The books became my friends and I didn’t want to get rid of them even though they were quickly beginning to take up very valuable Real Estate in my house. Then about 3 years ago when I bought my first iPhone I discovered ebooks. I was in HEAVEN. I could have as many books as I wanted and they didn’t take up any space. If we went on vacation, I didn’t have to choose between shoes and books in the suitcase. I could take my whole freeking library with me if I wanted to. All in my little iPhone. If I finished a book on vacation and I didn’t have another one, I could down load one INSTANTLY. It is nearly indescribable how happy this made me. Still makes me smile when I think of how easy it is to get my fix.
Now fast forward to a few weeks ago and the Tech Monkey comes to me and says “Mom my birthday is coming up and I want a Nook for my birthday.” I was super excited that he wanted to be in love with books like me. He is so like Agent Daddy in every way that I take whatever crumbs I can get. Then I saw the price. $249! Holy Cow! “He will LOVE books” I told myself although secretly I was also thinking I could borrow it when he was at school. He is a about the same age I was when my affair with the written word began. So off we went to get him his Nook for his birthday. The Nook Color really is a very cool gadget. Trust the Tech Monkey to find a way to digitize his world. Last night I am sitting on his bed talking to him while we play with his Nook and he says to me “You realize, mom, that soon there will be nothing printed. Magazines, newspapers, school books, and regular books will be available in digital form only.” I and I started to think about how different his life will be than mine. I am not really tech savy, nor am I a gadget kind of girl, but with Agent Daddy and the Tech Monkey in my life I have moved from an analog world to a digital one. How cool is that?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tech Monkey! Mommy and Daddy LOVE YOU SO very Much!

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