Slowly

Today everything is instant. Want to watch a movie? Stream one, instantly. Want to talk to someone? Send them an instant message. Want to play a video game? Go online and play instantly. No waiting. Little work.

With all of that on-demand, fast paced content, it's tough to encourage kids to participate and develop a love for things that are markedly slower. Like reading.

Reading is one of those things that requires work. As parents, Monte and I have to work to make time to read every night... We love it and it's become a ritual that we wouldn't want to give up.

Reading is work for Gavin too. He's doing great so far, but he gets frustrated sometimes too. Reading isn't always easy like watching TV or a movie.

But so much better than TV or a movie, reading is a joy that he's learning page by page. Each day there are little triumphs when new words are mastered and recognized. Each day the story of a chapter book grows and develops. It's slow, letting the mind fill in blanks and help to create the story. And each day that love of reading grows a little more. I love that it's slow. I love that it's methodical. I love that he loves it too.