My Favorite Book from My Childhood

I used to love when the Scholastic book fair was held at our school!  Mom would send me with money and I would do my best to spend every dime on books.  The book I most remember purchasing from the book fair and my favorite book as a child was Island of the Blue Dolphins.  I think I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I bought this book and I read it at least 10 times before I reached the 8th grade.  And I think I read it one more time during high school just for fun. 
I no longer remmeber the characters' names but the storyline and the vivid images created in my mind as I read the book are forever embedded in my memory.  The book tells the story of a young native girl that finds herself living alone on a deserted Pacific Island she once shared with a large tribe.  It describes how she survives and eventually becomes reunited with her tribe.  It also gives very vivid descriptions of the island's terrain, its animal inhabitants, and the waters surrounding it.  I loved this book because when I felt stuck in seemingly drab central Alabama with parents tennling me what to do and two younger siblings always needing something, I could pick up this book and take a vacation to a beautiful place inhabited by only one person.  Then I would imagine how lonely that would be and come back to reality with an appreciation for the love and beauty in my surroundings.

My Small Moment

This week my 3-year-old daughter asked me a question.  What the question was, I cannot remember, but I did not repond quickly and my husband answered for me.  Immediately, my daughter looked at him and asked, "Is your name Mommy?"  I knew I should scold her for talking back to an adult like that, but I could not retain my laughter.  In that moment, I saw a miniature version of myself asking one of the sarcastic questions that I have been known to use with my students and, most likely, a question used by a daycare teacher when an overly excited 3-year-old knows the color on the flashcard and doesn't want to wait her turn.  Thankfully, this time, she repeated something cure, but I was reminded that, as an adult and especially as a mother and teacher, I am always setting an example for children to follow and I need to do my best to make sure that example is a good one that will lead the children that are imitating me down a path that will bring them success.