Blog 3--- My Epiphany

As a child I hated reading and writing, mainly, because I was always stuck in one of those hooked on phonics classes. If you are old enough to remember, the big head phones and ancient machines feeding you words and definitions.  So, I grow up being intimidated by the one thing that is essential in life. Whether it is right or wrong, some people will judge your level of competency by how well you write. My awakening or epiphany on how important it is to read and write wasn’t until I was older.

The first novel I ever read from cover to cover was called the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This reading was assigned as a class discussion in philosophy.  As a class, we never finished reading the book but for some reason I had to finish it.  It was a story about two Pakistani boys and their bouts with childhood and adulthood struggles.  It has always been interesting to read about other cultures. I could see myself traveling to those distant places.  Even today, I will read travel magazines and imagine how it would be to visit.  My reading materials can transition from fantasizing about Mexico coasts to the reality of filing out my tax forms.

As a matured woman, I find having information and understanding it is important. By reading I have learned how to do my own taxes, incorporate non-for-profit businesses and obtain their sales tax exemption status.  There is a sense of independence when you can create a business or do your own taxes without paying the middle man. I guess writing in a sense is creativity.  It takes imagination, inspiration, time and patience to put your thoughts and heart down on paper.

 I discovered my mother was an avid reader and she had books in the house. She loved arts and crafts, cooking and novels.  I can remember a few arts and crafts books around the house on needle pointing techniques (I did not inherit that gene).  She had cooking recipes in plastic boxes for homemade pies, cakes, sauces and etc. I remembered the faded hand written index cards and the occasional ones coming through the mail. I had started my own collections of cards for pecan pies, buffalo wings and sauces. Through reading I learn how to do a little cooking and eating as well. My mother had very little education because she had to work in the fields as a child. But there was creativity in her, a desire to learn by picking up a book.  Now it is funny, I can create a spreadsheet or a casserole.  Have I become my mother?