Harry Winkle Pig

I am reading a book series with my 10 year old son. He is not what I would call a "motivated" reader. He is really skilled at it but he just doesn't love it. Imagine that. He's ten and he has more fidgety energy in one skinny little finger than I've produced all year.

So, in an effort to motivate him to dig in and finish a book in a reasonable time frame, we are reading together. I am the pace car so to speak. He chose a book that other mothers warned me was surprisingly "violent" and "intense" for his age. He was really excited about it and I had planned to be right there with him so we went for it. (we can discuss my questionable mothering instincts another time!)

Did I mention that I AM a reader? I love it and have at least 4 books going at any given time. His disinterested approach confuses me. How can you begin such an exciting story and then not tenaciously dedicate yourself to reaching the conclusion? Don't you even care what happens to these people??

I thought the purpose of reading this series together was for me to "protect" my pure and innocent boy from the potential emotional ravages of an intense story line. As is often the case in my life, it turns out I was not entirely correct. (there! I said it.)

It turns out reading with G1 is a lesson for me in timing and approach. If I patiently wait for them, his questions about the book are delicious morsels of insight into the workings of his amazing mind. The connections he makes between a 16 year old girl in a dystopian society and our American society are fascinating. He is 10 and the complexities that slide him into confusion are an endearing reminder of that. The conclusions he draws about the characters because of their behavior are the best insights I could hope for into his feelings about his life and his own relationships.

It reminds me of the early years when "Harry Winkle Pig" lived with us. He was a very "real" imaginary friend and G1 and I would have lively and non threatening conversations about what "HWP" thought about things. We could pre-game about the results of hypothetical disobedience and establish expectations. Sometimes I wish he was still with us!

What a creative bridge between two very different relational styles. The credit goes to my son. I am really just trying to stay out of my own way.

I need to pay closer attention to all my relationships and what I can learn about the people I love based on what confuses them about the world, the nuances they draw about their community and the way they respond to things that seem totally unrelated to me.

~T