your moment(s) of zen.

this is a special friday version of your moment(s) of zen. and i think it's a terrific way to end the week. let me know if you agree.

one of my gifts as a parent is the ability to read a picture book aloud. gift? you ask. anyone can read a stupid old children's book aloud. what's so special about that?

trust me, it is a gift. when the book is really really bad, but it's their favorite at the moment? just the way you read it can make it ten times better, or, at least bearable. or when the book is really really good, but made so much better with proper reading rhythm. timing. voices. true excitement from the reader that spills over into the words.

there really isn't anything else in the whole wide world like a good book read aloud.

and i don't mean to brag (further) but i kick ASS on where the wild things are. our bent and slightly torn and well worn copy sits on the shelf and doesn't see much action lately. oh, but in its day it was THE book. twice over. first with the duke, then wingman. and i couldn't be happier each time it got pulled off the shelf or off the floor by their bed and handed to me.

and as it happens when a book gets read over and over you can do it in your sleep. you memorize it, it becomes rote. but not this book. something about the words on the page, simple and spare. but so ALIVE. and then paired with the illustrations, it just rocks.

every time i read it was just as enjoyable as the last, maybe even more.

a boy acts like a wild thing, gets sent to his room, falls asleep, sails his boat, has an adventure, and when he wakes up his supper is there waiting right by his bed. it couldn't be simpler, but speaks volumes about everything. about being a kid, about being a parent, the power of dreaming, about how just a little rest can make things o.k. again.

so, it is this spirit that i present to you today's moment(s) of zen.

and wish for you something that makes you feel as ALIVE as a good story, a fine adventure, time away to get yourself back together, and then when you do get back, that your supper is there waiting for you...

and that it's still hot.

x.