Reading Like a Mother
This is a cliché, but as a child, I used to read everywhere. I read in the car, though it sometimes made me feel sick. When I should have been reading a textbook in lessons at school, I read books under the desk. I read novels as I walked home from school, at bedtime, and also after the lights had been turned out.
Photo by eliza cemme on Unsplash
Times have changed. To read as a mother is different and I’ve had to gradually acknowledge that. Some of us are lucky and have ended up teaching literature or working in publishing or editing where reading at length is still allowed. For others, life with our children, our families, our work, and our responsibilities has probably forced us to adjust our reading routines.
When my four children were little, I became an expert reader of picture books. It reinvigorated my enthusiasm for sketches and images, and for color and patterns alongside words and witticisms. I read aloud to my children, but I also quite enjoyed the stories! I also stole moments to read my own books while breastfeeding, which was an effort but worth it. Though our final two are twins, and during their feeding times my hands were tied and free from books. If only I’d worked out how to listen to audiobooks back then.
New parents will recognize how fragmented a day can be, and that a mother’s chances for reading will ebb and flow while questions are answered, clothing is washed, and packed lunches are made. Often I hear that reading in the parenting stages of our lives feels insufficient or unsatisfactory. We may only grasp a moment at bedtime to read what we really want to. Or an audiobook on our commute may be what we manage. That’s not to say reading as a mother can’t be valued.
I think it is worth owning these alternative ways of reading and I wonder if Literary Mama knows how valuable it is as a space for championing those mothers who do read AND write.
Here’s to all those who have contributed to the latest issue. What would we do if we didn’t see ourselves reflected back to us through the wondrous poems, literary reflections, fiction, creative nonfiction, and reviews?
Drop us a comment to share in my thanks to Literary Mama and all involved.