My son Scotty and I are reading “The Chronicles of Narnia” together this summer, and today was the day we discussed the first book, “The Magician’s Nephew.” We had a great time sitting together talking about it, with both of us bringing our particular insights.

It reminded me of how broad our experiences of life can be if we only look a bit deeper. I would have never imagined Scotty and I doing something like this together. We have done all the other usual dad/son things like playing ball, skating, mowing, riding bikes, and watching our beloved Cubs. But reading books together and talking about them was a real stretch for us both.

In truth, I never read when I was Scott’s age. As a matter of fact, it was in grad school when I first confessed to a professor of mine that I had not read one book for leisure in my life. It wasn’t that I couldn’t read, because I read a lot for class. I just considered reading for fun a waste of my time……a mistake I regretted deeply later in life.

My professor, Locke Bowman, knew better and he made me read “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” for class (it was an independent study) and we used both books then for discussions about educational theory. He knew he could draw me into reading, and he did! It was a brilliant move, and the mark of a true teacher with a passion for learning. Thanks Locke, I haven’t stopped reading since.

I certainly don’t want Scott to deprive himself of something so meaningful like I did, and after our discussion today I believe that will not be a problem. We move this week to “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and we are both looking forward to discussing it next Friday!

What a great way to begin that 47th year! I am blessed that he will read with me…..now if I can just get him to clean his room!

God bless!

Tom+