Sunday, May 10, 2015

My Momma Had Words With Me

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I know what you're going to say...This isn't Tuesday! But once you read the following, you won't care. It is Mother's Day and what would be better than the following essay. ;-)

Me, Momma, My brother, and sister--July 2012
 My Momma Had Words With Me

      I don’t know if it’s true anywhere else, but in the South, to “have words with” someone means to fuss, argue, or reprimand. My momma had another purpose for having words with me, for me, and around me. We didn’t discuss why people read or why it was important. My siblings and I just read. The power, magic, and glory of words surrounded us. No lectures were needed. No punishment was forthcoming to make us read. It was second nature to read. After all, our parents read in front of us every day. Momma focused on fiction while Daddy read the newspaper, biographies, and his professional journals.
      So, it was all Momma’s fault that my father-in-law was shocked when my daddy built bookshelves that covered half the walls in our study from the floor to ten-foot ceiling. With wide eyes, he said, “No one has that many books!”

      My husband shrugged. “She does. Everyone in her family does.” He knew there would be no wasted space in our study.
      It was Momma’s fault that we take delight in words. She gave us no choice in the matter. From the time we were toddlers, we all had library cards and joined the summer reading program at the regional library branch in our home town. Every week, we checked out five books.
All the librarians knew us by name.
      How do you feed a growing reading habit? Momma knew. She made sure there were books to read that challenged us. She made reading more books fun and expected. When our abilities to read outstripped our ages and we needed bigger, more complex books, Momma checked out adult books for us on her own library card. As the school librarian at my elementary school, she found harder and harder books for me to read when I had read everything at the lower levels. I clearly remember reading
Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson in the fifth grade. It was my first adult novel and I’ll never forget holding the large book and being carried away into the Southwest by the words.
      In time, my siblings and I found our own preferred genres. When given a list of three hundred books for college-bound students in the 1960’s, we attacked it from different angles. The fact that the complete works of Shakespeare and the great Greek historians were available in our home, made it easy to get started. My sister loves literature. My brother has a taste for biography, science, history, and true life adventure books. I read history, fiction of all types, and poetry.
      As voracious readers, we are the people who keep bookstores—large, small and online—in business. We are the people who always have up-to-date library cards. Our to-be-read lists of new books and old favorites are extensive. None of us is bored as long as there is something to read. And that isn’t likely to happen if we live a thousand years.
      It’s Momma’s fault that there is a longstanding family joke about the end of civilization. If an asteroid or other near extinction event occurred, our combined libraries would form the basis for restarting science, math, history, and literature. We could quickly raise man’s knowledge back to its former heights.
      The majesty and beauty of the words I grew up with created the desire to shape and form my own stories, to create new adventures, new people to meet, and new places to go. Momma encouraged me. She kept the poetry I wrote as an eight year old. Her simple acceptance made no obstacle insurmountable. Her faith that I could do anything I wanted allowed me to experiment and try different styles. She not only taught me to love words, but the persistence it takes to shape, order, and arrange them in coherent ways. When she gave me the love of words, she gave me the tools to accomplish what I desired to do. She gave me the ability to tell stories that soothes hurts, inspires challenges, and entertains. My mother gave me life—physically, mentally, and emotionally. She gave me dreams and encouraged me to strive to reach for them. My mother gave me words to share and the persistence to achieve the dream of being a writer. She still encourages me to write and inspires me with her own voracious reading.
      Thank you, Momma, for having words with me. I love you.


Next Week: May Mini Book Reviews ;-)

12 comments:

  1. Such a lovely tribute, Zan Marie. Just reading about high bookshelves makes me drool :P

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    1. You don't have to *dust* those high bookshelves, Deniz. You'd sing a different tune--some days. ;-)

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  2. Zan Marie,

    How lucky you are to have had such a role model and such support. How lucky for your mom, that you appreciate it.

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    1. We all do, Rose. We are a close group who loves reading and discussing. Thanks for dropping by!

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  3. Very good article and the picture is also a good one of all four of you! Enjoyed reading your writing as you do have a way with words in getting your point across to others.

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    1. Thank you, Beverly! That's a good thing to know. ;-)

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  4. How lucky you are to have a mother who loves words, and has passed that love on to her children. :)

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    1. I know! I count my blessings that we still share good books with each other.

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  5. Dear Zan Marie,
    I found your blog through the Wordstrumpet blog (http://www.wordstrumpet.com) and am so delighted to find such a "kindred spirit." When an acquaintance asked about my decorating style, before I could reply, my husband chimed in, "It's Branch Library!" So true! I, too, was fortunate to have a mom who encouraged us to read and I hope that I was that kind of mom to my own children. Such a rich heritage! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. (I don't have a blog so I am commenting as Anonymous, but you can call me Jackie!) I am looking forward to exploring your writing! :)

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    1. Jackie, Welcome to the Shade! I hope you find your way back here each week. I love to share mini book reviews and author interviews. Maybe you can find some more books for your "Branch Library"!

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  6. She sounds like a very inspiring woman. Reading is something I definitely couldn't be without.

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    1. She's still reading voraciously and still encouraging!

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