A 'Novel' Start to the Morning

Normally Matthew is still sleeping at 7:15am.  But this morning, I walked by the boys' bedroom door and saw that the light was on.  I knew that Seth was downstairs so I looked in to the slightly open bedroom door, surprised that it was Matthew who must have turned on the light.

There he was, lying in bed, the book that he started reading last night in his hands.  He was reading.  In bed.  Voluntarily.

I must have made a noise because he suddenly looked over at the door.

"Mom," he said, no good morning in the offing.  "I got stuck on a word a couple of pages ago."

A couple of pages ago.  That fact itself sent a few shivers down my back.

It was the word anchor.  I helped him figure it out and then, when he immediately got engrossed in his book again, backed out of the room.  When I came downstairs, I asked his siblings to stay downstairs for the time being, just to give him a little more time before being attacked by the noise of siblings.

We're still adapting to the new normal.  I'm still wondering if this is for real and for how long this will last.  Hopefully forever...but even if not, I'm now completely and utterly convinced that reading is a part  of my children's futures.


P.S.  It's about 11am now and about 30 minutes ago I sent Matthew up for a shower and to wash his hair.  He just now came down and said that he'd read four chapters of the book I saw him reading in bed this morning.  I asked how he'd managed to find time to read that much and he told me that he'd asked Seth to hold his book open and flat against the glass wall of the shower so that he could read while he was showering; and that when he was ready for a page turn, he'd tap the glass and Seth would turn the page!  I'm hoping Seth got something out of that experience...and I'm hoping that Matthew's hair actually got washed!!