The Quiet Hour

It seems as though the 2012 weekly postings for Alphabe-Thursday have taken on a "memories of childhood" theme. This week the letter is "H". A major undertaking for the month of January is to Clean the Basement. This is not a project for the faint of heart...from my childhood high chair (almost 68 years old) old camping equipment, to the remnants of our son's left-behind household goods and everything in between - each day brings a flood of stored away images to my dust-clogged brain. 

Monday of this week was Book Day...sorting through dozens upon dozens of books...photography books that will go with us on our next trip to Alaska, out of date computer manuals (I believe they are obsolete as soon as they leave the book store), fictional novels and long ago college textbooks. All are bundled and tied up with cording ready to be donated. 

Except for one - this well read paper back - 
 
What is so special about this particular book?...when I came across it, everything else was forgotten for a time...the pages were turned and once again, it was evening. Our young son had just finished a warm bath, and a favorite pair of pajamas had been jumped into (the kind with non-skid feet). "Mom, can we read again tonight?" And we would snuggle on the sofa and pick up the story from the previous evening...as I read to him of the adventures of Atreyu and Falkor, the day would unwind and the house would grow quiet. Eventually, those little eyes would grow heavy and the book would be marked where we stopped. Tucking him into bed was not an issue...I am happy to say we never had problems with a child who fought bedtime. I attribute that mostly to The Quiet Hour. As for me, those times are a treasure.


..."I wonder, what's in a book while it's closed. Oh, I know, it's full of letters printed on paper, but all the same, something must be happening, because as soon as I open it, there's a whole story with people I don't know yet and all kinds of adventures and deeds and battles..." Bastian - The Neverending Story