Books, books and more books!

As y'all know, I've been enjoying my first encounter with O'Brian's nautical historical fiction. One element of his writing that has left me simply slack-jawed with admiration is the skill with which he introduces conflict into the storyline. It's subtle, and while you can look back and say, "Oh, of course," you cannot do that mid-read. Nope, just sneaks up on you, much the way conflict does in true life, as well. I am only on the first book, Master and Commander, but even so, his characters are so well-developed and I am enjoying getting to know them.

I have, in sheer self-defense, had to incorporate reading Chapman's Piloting & Seamanship to my pile. All those nautical terms! Why did I start this book the week Zorak was gone? Not one of my better plans.

Christ of the Covenants- it's spooled up in the queue. I'm looking forward to reading it.

The boys are reading some neat books, too. If I have time tonight I'll put them in the sidebar (where they will sit for months like that, even though we will have rotated books out many times over... it's a false hope to think I will maintain the sidebar like that.)

Kim mentioned The Five Love Languages the other day on her blog. It got me thinking and pondering. James is such a quality time kinda kid. This week has been hard on him, really, and it hit me today that a big part of that may be the lack of quality time, of any reasonably decent one on one time. So, after a very long and trying day (but with its good points, definite good points!) I let him stay up late, after the other two were asleep. He and I snuggled in the bed under the soft flannels and the comfy sheet and read stories he picked. We read Owl at Home (Lobel) and a few chapters of The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh). We spent an hour together and talked about more than just the stories. We talked about imagination and writing stories, about lineages and legacies, about family and love. He snuggled in and let out a dreamy sigh, more relaxed than he's sounded all week. "What's on your mind, buddy-bear?" I asked. He said, "Just you. I really love you." *sigh* "I love you, too, sweetheart. I love you, too."

I am anxious to recalibrate our schedule to allot for more intentional time with each boy. This is something I have always promoted, but sometimes forget to do myself. Well, it's not about temporary fixes or schedules, it's about life. This is it, the big engagement! It is who we are and what we do, and in the end, these are the things they will remember. It's actually easier to maneuver with the four of us, as that dynamic is very well-developed and fluid. We do well as a group. The individual time, however, requires making other arrangements and setting that time aside. I think I just got lazy, but that's still no excuse. That's not what I want to be telling them when they are adults, "Oh, yes, I loved and cherished each of you so much... but didn't make the extra time to spend with you individually." No. That will not be happening. So, now that I see where I've dropped the ball, I am anxious to pick it up and continue on enjoying the boys- all together, and individually. :-)

Well, on that note, it's just a little after midnight... I'm going to hit the hay "early" tonight and enjoy some one on one time with a good book, too!

Kiss those babies, one at a time and all together!

~Dy