reading

• I took only ten photos today.  Taking photos is such a natural part of my day that I rarely remember what I shot or how many I took.  Sometimes, like today, I'm surprised by how few there are.  More often than not, I'm surprised by how many. 
• Lila, you love reading.  You were so sweet laying in front of the fire.  Grandma gave Georgie a new Berenstain Bears book, and you studied it for a good long while.  You're able to point out sight words, and you're working on sounding things out and guessing at words from the pictures.  
• Katie, today was your deadline to decide about piano.  About 75% of me hoped you would continue, and 25% of me understands that you're feeling overwhelmed and too busy.  It's just that I really like your piano teacher and I'm sad that I won't see her anymore.  I'll also miss the 45 minutes on Wednesday evenings when I sat in pure silence on a laz-e-boy and relaxed.   When you told me your decision, we were in the kitchen, and you burst into tears, which of course made me cry too.  You're mostly sad because you will also miss Sandra.   You wrote her a cute little card which listed all the things you love about her.  We bought some flowers and headed to your lesson.  We told her at the beginning of the lesson, then sat and chatted for the remainder.  She's really funny and always has an interesting story to tell...and her famous line...I have a cousin for every story and every situation.  We all got teary again as we said goodbye.