It is a well-known fact that I am a bibliophile - as I have mentioned in a previous blog, in fact. I own hundreds of books - literally - and consider them to be my most prized possession. Inevitably, I am hoping that my child will follow in my footsteps so that one day we may share the pain-in-the-arse task of having to pack up our books to move houses together. Oh,and to be able to enjoy reading and discussing books and to go to book fairs and bookshops and libraries together, of course.
I have already filled in a shelf with baby books - mostly thanks to my dear friends who gave a few books as gifts. There were a few books from my childhood which I managed to part ways with and place them officially in Creature's collection. I know though, that I will be needing a second copy of some of the books. The ones I am unable to part ways with are mainly my battered copies of the Magic Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton, my Roald Dahl Books,and my Neil Gaiman books. Having said that, I can't wait til I get to read The Dangerous Alphabet to Creature, or Blueberry Girl - or even The BFG, The Witches and Matilda!
As newborns, children don't really understand words, so vibrant pictures tend to be as important as the silly voices you make when reading out a story to them. In spite of not understand the meaning behind the words immediately, books that have a rich,varied vocabulary are of great benefit as it will enable the child[ren] in question to better grasp the concept of language when the time is right.
A lot of my American friends speak highly of Dr Seuss's books, which I understand are deemed to be modern-day classics. In all honesty, I have never read any of them myself as I grew up reading different classics - of a more British variety, in way. Having said that, I have every intention of popping my Dr Seuss Cherry soon enough, meaning there is no need to disown me as a friend [which I have been threatened by not too long ago by a good friend of mine].
Nursery Rhymes are also an important aspect of childhood reading. I highly recommend getting a couple of books which have a mixture of stories and nursery rhymes in them - such as this book, or this one.
One piece of advice- if you manage to find the time, try to read a sample of the book you intend to buy. It will help you make sure that the content is something you are happy to have your child exposed to. This book is a prime example of why it is always best to check the content. I myself own this book - I purchased it from a local shop, where it was shelved in the Children's Books section - in spite of having written on the back cover that it is not suitable for young readers. Due to the staff running the shop assuming that it is in fact a children's book, I'm sure quite a few parents have been asked by their child[ren] what rape means. I would have loved to witness such an event play out and watch a furious parent confronting the shop's staff, to be honest.
The Internet is an awesome source for stories - a simply Google search will provide you with tons of free stuff you can print out for your child, if a book is not something you can afford for the time being.
For further reading about the mentioned books and/or authors:
Roald Dahl's books
Neil Gaiman's Children's books
Showing posts with label father. lemon tree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label father. lemon tree. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Three is not a crowd.
"Shoot me if you see me falling for another one again, will you?"
How many times have you said something along those lines to your confidante after Yet Another Failed Relationship?
"Never again!"
I lost count of how many times I've said it myself. There tends to be a mutual agreement - which tends to smell of lemons - between myself and another close friend that if we notice that the other is falling for it again, we'll do whatever it takes to stop them whilst there is still time.
"Lemons?" you're probably wondering.
Yep. Big bitter ones.
Sorry, bad joke, I know. It is what I'm good at.
Anyway. Back to the topic at hand.
After my last relationship fell through, I've had a lot of people show concern and being supportive, and for that I'm thankful. I happen to be at a stage in life where everyone and their sister seems to be sprouting kidlets - so needless to say, quite a few friends of mine could relate to what I was going through, what worries I may have had, what difficulties I was, am or will be facing, and so on and so forth.
A dear friend of mine who is like a sister to me, and is nowadays a Single Mum, called me to say her 11 year old son - whom I've known since he was 2 years of age - wished to speak to me. This boy told me "Don't worry. It is for the best. It will be better for Creature to grow up with just you rather than have to go through parental arguments and clashes. That is all I remember from when I was younger - my parents fighting all the time, and it wasn't nice."
Being told these words by a child made me tear up even more, because I recognised the truth behind them. As tough as it may be, if the relationship isn't working, it will do more harm than good to stick together "for the kid[s]".
All the Single Parents I've spoken to so far have all said the same thing - you will always have lingering feelings for the Absent Parent, purely because they allowed you to have your child. The temptation to give in and attempt a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 20th shot at making things work with the Ex will be there for a very long time - however as with all relationships, keep in mind that there was a very good reason for it to have ended. Don't allow nostalgia to get to you - it tends to make you remember only the good times and forget the bad times. Both kinds of experiences are equally important.
Nowadays, I know that if I were to attempt a relationship again, it will be much more difficult. I'm no longer single. My official title is not Single Mother. See? The title itself says it all. I'm double, not single. I come as a package deal, not a standalone product. I have to evaluate the Potential Datee well before I go for it, and bring Creature first and foremost.
The one reason I will not say "Never again!" this time is because I believe Creature has a right to have a Father Figure present in his/her life. A Father is not merely a Sperm Donor - it is someone who sticks around through thick and thin - who is there to support you through the good times and the bad. Not being biologically related means jack shit.
So maybe, who knows, eventually it'll happen. It is a matter of never saying never.
In the meanwhile, I'll leave you with a link to an article I've come across which entails advice for men [or women] who may wish to get involved with a Single Mother. I found myself mentally nodding at everything listed in this article, thus my sharing it with you lot.
How many times have you said something along those lines to your confidante after Yet Another Failed Relationship?
"Never again!"
I lost count of how many times I've said it myself. There tends to be a mutual agreement - which tends to smell of lemons - between myself and another close friend that if we notice that the other is falling for it again, we'll do whatever it takes to stop them whilst there is still time.
"Lemons?" you're probably wondering.
Yep. Big bitter ones.
Sorry, bad joke, I know. It is what I'm good at.
Anyway. Back to the topic at hand.
After my last relationship fell through, I've had a lot of people show concern and being supportive, and for that I'm thankful. I happen to be at a stage in life where everyone and their sister seems to be sprouting kidlets - so needless to say, quite a few friends of mine could relate to what I was going through, what worries I may have had, what difficulties I was, am or will be facing, and so on and so forth.
A dear friend of mine who is like a sister to me, and is nowadays a Single Mum, called me to say her 11 year old son - whom I've known since he was 2 years of age - wished to speak to me. This boy told me "Don't worry. It is for the best. It will be better for Creature to grow up with just you rather than have to go through parental arguments and clashes. That is all I remember from when I was younger - my parents fighting all the time, and it wasn't nice."
Being told these words by a child made me tear up even more, because I recognised the truth behind them. As tough as it may be, if the relationship isn't working, it will do more harm than good to stick together "for the kid[s]".
All the Single Parents I've spoken to so far have all said the same thing - you will always have lingering feelings for the Absent Parent, purely because they allowed you to have your child. The temptation to give in and attempt a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 20th shot at making things work with the Ex will be there for a very long time - however as with all relationships, keep in mind that there was a very good reason for it to have ended. Don't allow nostalgia to get to you - it tends to make you remember only the good times and forget the bad times. Both kinds of experiences are equally important.
Nowadays, I know that if I were to attempt a relationship again, it will be much more difficult. I'm no longer single. My official title is not Single Mother. See? The title itself says it all. I'm double, not single. I come as a package deal, not a standalone product. I have to evaluate the Potential Datee well before I go for it, and bring Creature first and foremost.
The one reason I will not say "Never again!" this time is because I believe Creature has a right to have a Father Figure present in his/her life. A Father is not merely a Sperm Donor - it is someone who sticks around through thick and thin - who is there to support you through the good times and the bad. Not being biologically related means jack shit.
So maybe, who knows, eventually it'll happen. It is a matter of never saying never.
In the meanwhile, I'll leave you with a link to an article I've come across which entails advice for men [or women] who may wish to get involved with a Single Mother. I found myself mentally nodding at everything listed in this article, thus my sharing it with you lot.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)