Being in a supportive environment is important to our growth as individuals, not everyone has had that opportunity and as adults we try and create an environment that will nurture and bless our children and indeed ourselves.
I have always loved books, which was fostered as a child at
primary school, with one of my favourites being 'The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe and Secret garden'. We were encourage to
bring a new book home every week and there would be new adventures for me just
waiting to be explored and it allowed me to escape the school bullies if only
for a little while.
My dad also had a love of westerns and thrillers and we had
books in stacks dotted around the home as a normal part of the course. I went on to encourage my son to read from an
early age, telling him stories and allowing him to look at the pictures and
make up stories of his own. There was
the occasional time when I would fall asleep mid-flow while reading him a story
and he would lay there looking at me with amusement until he succumbed to the
sleep and took pleasure in telling me in the morning.
I keep offering to make it up to him now, but he says he’s
too old for stories and we try and take time talking about the day. I’ve have
now turned my joy to writing and illustrating short stories and maybe one day
someone will take my story off the shelf and read it to their child.
Mixed Media House collage on Wood |