Reading Rituals

We each have favorite ways to begin a new day, a favorite tradition or habit. For me it is to open the San Diego Union Tribune and enjoy a cup of tea. It had been coffee for many years until I stopped the coffee routine a year or two ago. I also enjoy other drinks such as hot cocoa or hot apple cider, the kind that come in little instant drink packets. But the main part of the ritual is to read the newspaper.

I remember my grandparents had the newspaper which I sometimes looked at as a child. I don't remember if it was the morning or evening paper. They had some magazines I enjoyed also, such as The Saturday Evening Post. I was a slow reader so it is amazing that I even picked up the paper or any magazines. But there are things of interest to see, even for a slow reader. I don't remember my parents having any newspapers in the house in those days. When I was able to do so I purchased some magazines. First it was children's magazines and then things of interest to teenagers. But I enjoyed The Ladies Home Journal as a young teenager too. My mother must have liked magazines also, as she had a lot of old copies, some as old as me. Somewhere we still have one of the oldest copies of Life magazine, dated the month I was born.

I remember seeing books on the shelves at my grandparent's homes. They didn't seem to be children's books so didn't capture my interest. We used to go to the Coronado Library and I enjoyed this experience. I also checked out books at the school library. I did not own any books until I bought a set of Cherry Ames books when I was a teen ager. I bought books for our children and we now have a library in our house. We have books on many subjects, mainly Christian books. We have a lot of nature books too, especially birding books.

Paul's parents had a lot of books as his mother was an avid reader. Laura must have received this gene as she is a serious reader too. We didn't have TV when our children were young so they enjoyed books, even the encyclopedia. And I enjoyed my other publications such as the San Diego Union and my magazines.

Paul's family got the San Diego Evening Tribune for many years. We got the morning paper for years and years and that is how I got much of the news. The two papers are now combined and are not as large due to cost saving measures. But I continue my morning ritual that has been going on for more than fifty years. :)



Image credits: inkyfingerz; mynaiale; Fríða Rún