What I’m Reading: Wild by Cheryl Strayed

 Since both kids have been in school all day, I have rediscovered my love for reading. I have read over six books since September.  I have not done that since Marie was born nine years ago.

I forgot how therapeutic it is to become totally absorbed in someone else’s story.  I love the feeling of being transported to a new place and seeing life from someone else’s viewpoint, yet finding myself at the same time.

I’m really drawn to books about self-discovery right now.  For me, having kids has really forced me to figure out who I am and what I stand for.

That is why I love Wild. She was out there alone on the Pacific Crest Trail, mostly in silence to figure out who she really was.

 Away from her circumstances.

 Away from her vices. 

Away from her sadness.

With the beautiful and challenging backdrop of the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl was able to take an honest look at her life, the good and the bad, and make sense of it so she could move on.  I loved reading about how she was able to think critically about her family and come to a place of understanding.  I think my favorite part of the book (without giving away too much) is when she had an opportunity to repeat a recurring mistake and instead of feeling right, she felt empty. 

Through her physical journey, she was able to make her way back to her true self, evolved by transitions and revelations.

I don't think it is currently in my life plan to hike the PCT alone, but I do think that I am in a transition of sorts. I am learning that it takes more courage to be honest with myself as opposed to a muted version that is more concerned with pleasing others.

I am making peace with things that didn't go so well in my life, and celebrating the things that did.

I am working on accepting other people's shortcomings, especially my own. 

Did you read Wild? What did you think?

On Reading, Elizabeth Gilbert, Oprah, and The Life You Want Weekend

I love social media.  Love. It.  By giving me a platform to write and connect, social media really has transformed my life.  I have a new career teaching social media, writing, and my newest venture, working on the Hay There Social Media team.  I do all of this from the safety of my keyboard in my home (which is ideal since I am accepting that I am pretty much an introvert).

But the thin line between love and obsession has been blurred.

Instead of making something creative with my hands, I have logged in way too many hours on Pinterest.

Instead of getting lost in a book, I am endlessly scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Knowing that I was using social media escape as my escape instead reading was my most alarming observation. 

I realized this on my last birthday, almost a year ago.  I had been pining for Signature of All Things written by my favorite author, Elizabeth Gilbert.  I started reading, and couldn’t do it.  I felt overwhelmed with the fact that it was 499 pages long.

I’m not stranger to long books! Was the 140 character model of Twitter was melting my brain?!

I felt defeated and kind of out of sorts. Kind of like the time when I started the Couch to 5K program: I thought I was in awesome shape until Week 2.  I was out of breath running for five minutes. This spurred a minor identity crisis.

I was not comfortable with this choosing Facebook over actual books, especially at night, which, left me feeling not well rested at all.  So this summer, I tried reading Signature of All Things again.

I had to read slowly at first since the story took place in the 1800s.  The beautifully constructed sentences that created an intriguing plot, a vivid setting, and multidimensional characters were a far cry from the status updates I normally read.

I forgot how therapeutic it could be to become utterly lost in a story.  I loved how I could identify with a fictional character from a different time period, reminding me that we are all on a path of self-discovery.

As I muscled through the book, my love for reading was reignited.  I took that fire and read Poser by Claire Dederer.  As I read about how yoga helped her make sense of the seismic shift that takes place during motherhood, I felt comforted that I was not the only one who had found her long, lost breath in a dimly lit yoga studio.

And then started reading Eat Pray Love for the second time because this book will always be the mother of all self-discovery books.

Well, that and a little something called The Life You Want Tour, in which Oprah is technically the main attraction.  However, when I head that Elizabeth Gilbert was going to be there, I knew that I must go.

I missed an opportunity to see her at Wayne State College during her promotional tour for Signature of All Things.  Something was going on with the kids or Harrington was out of town.  I don’t remember.  The dread of missing my favorite author speak still gnaws at me, much like the time I decided to study for a test instead of going to see the Violent Femmes my senior year of high school.

I may have seats in the upper bowl and I may need a telescope to see the stage, but I am so excited to finally hear Elizabeth Gilbert, the author who has inspired me to find the courage to chase happiness, talk in person.

Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for reminding me how much I not only love reading, but that I need it in my life.

Do have an activity that you love that has been tossed to the wayside?  What was it?  Were you able to find it again?

Tackling Math: Bedtime Math 2

One of the many fascinating aspects of raising children is you get to relive your own childhood.

When Marie get all excited about discovering Judy Blume books or the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary, I am surprised by the rush of warm, fuzzy memories of reading those same books.  Some details I can recall so vividly, like the time Ramona’s dad made pancakes for dinner when Ramona’s mom forgot to plug in the crockpot and the beef stew was not cooked.  I became so connected to these characters it was as if these things happened in my own life.

When I see Thomas taking his lovey, Baby Jammies, everywhere with him, it reminds my how I used to be so attached to my soft, yellow blankie.  I was so attached that when I was in first grade, I used to hide it when my friends would come over so no one knew about it.

I also remember my horrible struggles as they encounter their own battles.  I remember in crystal clear detail how much I hated the collaborative learning centers in my second grade teacher’s class; they just did not mesh well with my emerging introvert personality.

I also remember sitting at the kitchen table with tears of frustration streaming down my face as I attempted my math homework. Story problems were the worst!  A scenario involving trains going at different speeds to get somewhere at the same time – blah, blah, blah.

I was more interested in who was on the train.  Where was it going?  Why?  What kind of food was on the train? 

No mystery why I became an English major.

I shut myself off to math and declared it useless.

Useless?!

Clearly I had yet to use money or try to cut a recipe in half or have the pleasure of visiting Ikea.

Math is everywhere!

I do not want my kids growing up with this convoluted attitude about math that I did, so imagine my excitement when I discovered that Laura Overdeck wrote a new book called Bedtime Math 2 –This Time It’s Personal.

Now that Thomas is five and almost in Kindergarten, I can even do Wee Level with him, which involves simple addition, and working with patterns.  He was a tad resistant at first, but the stories about underwear (one of his most favorite topics to discuss) and birthdays (he could talk about birthdays and cake forever) won him over.

Marie loves the stories in the book, and I feel so immensely excited that she is doing math in her head.  In her head!!

This newest edition not only has the three levels with each story problem as in the previous book (Wee Ones, Little Kids, Big Kids), but has some really engaging Bonus Questions as well.

I love that both kids can sit down and enjoy this book together even though they are at different levels.

This gives me hope that they won’t struggle with doing math in their head to leave a tip or figuring out the sale price or wondering if that beautiful entertainment center will actually fit on the family room wall.

Do you struggle with math?  How do you help your kids feel excited about math?

**Disclaimer – I was given a copy of Bedtime Math 2 – This Time It’s Personal to review.  These options (and admission about my math deficiencies) are all my own.

New Love: Bedtime Math

I recently had a chance to review Bedtime Math by Laura Overdeck.*  Honestly, the timing was perfect on this opportunity.  Marie was just saying how she doesn’t like math.

What?!

I mean she is only 7 years old.  I know there are studies that have talked about girls loosing interest in math at a young age, but 7 years old?!

I wasn’t sure how she was going to take to this book since she loves to read stories.  However, what makes this math book so great is the story that is read before any math questions are asked.  One of her favorite stories was about noodles.  There was a brief, funny story about cooking noodles and having them stick to the wall to determine if they are done.  The math questions were all about figuring out cooking times. 

I think the reason that this book has piqued Marie’s interest in math is the storytelling.  She cares about finding out the answers because she is interested in the story.  This is a far cry about two trains leaving the station at the same time, but at different speeds.  Or something like that.  I was too distracted since I was wondering where the trains were going, who was on the train, what was being served in the food cart, would it be like the train in White Christmas – you know, the important stuff.

What I also like about this book is there are different levels of questions so as she builds her math skills, she can still use the book.  Another great point about the concept of this math book – there is no “right” way to figure out the problem.  Marie is not confined by a certain method of math so she is thinking critically about the problem and figuring it out on her own.  How awesome is that?!

I love how she is totally interested in math now and even ask to read Bedtime Math in favor of her beloved chapter books.

To be truthful, I was always confused and overwhelmed with math (re: the paragraph where I don’t remember train story problems).  But I am hoping that with a resource like Bedtime Math, she will gain confidence in math because she truly likes figuring out problems.

I don’t often feel like a rock star mom, but this book makes me feel like I may be changing the course of Marie’s life as she sees herself as someone who not only likes math, but is good at it, too.

How do you get your child excited about something they think they don’t like?  Have you ever had to put your feelings of discomfort about a certain subject aside in order to help your child?

*I was given a copy of Bedtime Math to review, but these opinions are mine, all mine.