Ella, at 7 1/2, has never been an enthusiastic reader, or in any way an independent reader. It has not been something she does for pleasure. For her Half Hour With The Book for school, she usually chooses Calvin and Hobbes. Not that there is anything wrong with Calvin and Hobbes. But she has never chosen to read on her own.
And then, on Saturday morning, she chose to remain in bed and snuggle and read one of her new Nate the Great books. By herself.
There were two other events this week that may have contributed to her doing this on Saturday. Or, it just may have been time. No way really to tell.
The first event was a real mistake that I made. A Bad Mommy moment. Earlier in the week, Wednesday I think, Ella was saying something about how she wasn't really interested in reading, because she doesn't necessarily know all of the words, and she doesn't want to keep running to me to ask what they are.
"Oh," I replied. "Well, when Madison was 6, she just decided that she wanted to read the Boxcar Children, and then when she didn't know a word, she just skipped over it, because she really, really wanted to be able to read. It's not that she was better at it than you, but she was really, really driven."
I can't remember what Ella replied to that, something kind of disparaging I think, because it is overshadowed by the Bad Thing I said next:
"By the time Madison was your age, she had read the first six Harry Potters."
It's not that I didn't mean to say that, it's that I have always positively meant NOT to say it. I do know what motivated me to say it at that moment, that a little competitive spirit might kick Ella in the pants, but still, what a bad idea to have actually said it. It is one of a very few moments in my parenting life that I have positively gone against a Deep Parenting Principle that I hold. I still feel bad about it. Even though...
It might have done some good.
On Thursday night, the girls had their concert at Barnes & Noble. Afterward, I pretty much bought everything they wanted. As Ella saw Madison piling up books in the basket, she was a bit sour. "I don't know what I want," she said. "I don't know if I want anything."
I was pretty sure that this was a consequence of what I'd said, and spent a fair amount of mental energy kicking myself. But then, she piled several Nate the Great books in the basket.
And then, there she was, reading, on Saturday morning. And just now, for her reading for school, she read an entire Nate the Great book to me without pause, and only missed the word "honor" (which she read as "horror").
So, I think we've turned that corner. But I certainly won't take credit. Yay, Ella!
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