Baby Words

Husby and I spent the last weekend in Provo, Utah.

He, walking, relaxing and catching-up-on-sleep in the Marriott.

Me, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ally Condie, Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner and Jennifer Nielsen at the Storymakers Conference.

Yep. Just me (and over 700 other writers) were all sharing with and learning from the best and brightest, including several New York Times bestselling authors.

What a weekend!

But, as with any good thing, it ended. And now I have the long months to wait until Storymakers 2018.

But, after we had packed up and checked out, something happened that made the joyous weekend of books and words last just a teensy bit longer . . .

Husby and I decided to attend Church a short distance from the hotel. We walked in as the congregation was singing a hymn. (Yes, we were late.)

We took a seat near the back, where many of the families with small children had taken up residence. (And yes, I was missing my grandchildren, so this was the perfect place for us.)

A tiny girl—just shy of actually walking—was in the pew just across the aisle from us. For the first few seconds, she stared steadily at Husby’s bearded face.

Yeah, he gets that a lot.

Then another couple walked in (We weren’t the latest arrivals. Whew!) with a tinier baby in a carrier. They took a seat a few rows back from us and set the carrier down on the floor in the aisle right next to their bench.

The little girl’s attention was immediately diverted. “OOOH!” she said, pointing to the baby. Getting down on her hands and knees, she quickly closed the distance between her and her soon-to-be-best-friend.

Her parents watched her go.

Did they jump up and retrieve their wandering daughter?

Nope.

Instead, her father quietly took out a board book and propped it up on the floor in the aisle beside their family’s pew where it would be in plain sight of their little explorer.

The tiny girl sat down beside the baby carrier, then spied the book.

“OOOH!” she said again. She started crawling back toward her family. And her book.

Halfway back, she again sat down, her head swiveling between the baby and the book. Hmmm . . . which to pursue?

Finally, decision made, she closed the distance between her and her reading material. Happily, she grabbed the book. Her dad grabbed her and the two of them proceeded to make their way through something brightly-coloured and catchy.

The baby in the carrier slept on, unaware that her friend had abandoned her for an adventure of the printed kind.

And I realized how important it is that we are readers. That we are raising future readers.

And the thought struck: If more children chose reading over hanging with friends, what kind of world would we live in?

Just wondering . . .