The Power of the Words We Share

​I love words. I love how a great writer can whisper their thoughts onto a page and what appears in our mind is a picture. We see the words, more than that, we feel the words. There is dimension, movement, temperature and colour. Words can build us up and with Shakespearian art they can tear us down. The words we read become a part of us. What is read or read to us become part of who we are and part of our human condition.

I asked a question on my Facebook site earlier this week, "What book helped to make you love to read?". The answers I received were heartwarming. There was one thing that each of the answers had in common; the love of books came from listening to someone read to them. Even my answer was a book my mother had read to me; Anne of Green Gables. I can still hear her voice. I can feel the warmth and laughter that we shared as Anne readied for the arrival of her friend for tea and the epic "raspberry cordial". I remember the talk we had about bullying and the importance to stand up for those you care about. Through sharing Anne’s story, I heard my mother’s past and imagined my future. I learned about her desire to have gone to University and the expectation for my future. The times spent with my mother engrossed in a column, history or a story remains vivid in my mind and heart.

Tonight, I read to my son as I do every night. With each book we open together and with every final chapter I wonder…is this the book he will remember as the one?  I will always read with my son. I will share my love of learning and of words. I truly believe that sharing a book with someone is powerful. It is a connection in experience that we hold inside of our souls. You know, my brother and sister-in-law read to each other as a way to pass long winter nights and rainy days. It is nurturing.

Who do you read to? Who reads to you? Never underestimate the power of reading to someone. If you are a literacy or math teacher, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a caregiver or friend take the time to get lost in the words with someone. Create your own personal connection. Then share those stories of connection with me.