Turners Telling Tales

I can’t think of a specific bedtime story that was my favorite, but I do know that bedtime stories were something I looked forward to when they happened.

My favorite bedtime I remember was a summer night in Wisconsin. They sky was filled with bright stars and wispy clouds. All five of us kids piled onto the porch with sleeping bags and blankets. We all found a place to sit or lay down facing our father, and became instantly silent.

He pulled out Harry Potter and began to read. He read with confidence and used voices for each character. I can’t speak for my siblings but I was caught in the magic. His voice filled my ears carrying the magical world of Harry Potter into my mind and making it real.

Undoubtedly moments like these are what stoked my love of books and reading aloud to people.

In 2013 I moved to Washington to live with my mother and little brother. He was 11 at the time and liked to read but had a hard time focusing because of his ADHD, so I decided to read for him the way my father read for me.

Every night before bed I would sit on his desk chair and we would read one chapter from his favorite book ‘The Guardians of Ga’Hoole’. This gave us a chance to connect and do something only for us.

After a while it was mentioned to my grandmother that we had this routine and she asked if I would read to the family for a few hours once a week. I agreed and she picked a personal favorite of mine. ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’. So, every Sunday we would sit on the sectional and read a chapter or two.

And now that I am a mother bedtime stories are my favorite part of the day.

2020 was a rough year for me and my daughter. I had a failed relationship, we moved in with family, then moved in to an apartment, I was jobless, then back to work, baby started daycare.

It was a year of constant change. And anyone who has raised a baby knows they thrive on routine. My daughter was facing some emotional issues and could barely sleep in her own bed.

Once everything settled into some semblance of normalcy, I began to put our bedtime routine in place. Pick up her toys, take a bath, read a book, sing her song, and put her to sleep. We continued this routine for the last year and now that she is older, she picks out the books every night.

After her bath I tell her “Ok, go get Mommy two books. One… Two…”

And we cycle through them pretty regularly but her favorites are ‘The Grouchy Ladybug’ by Eric Carle and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault.

She plops them into my hands and triumphantly says “Disa One”. We scurry into the bedroom we share and I climb into bed and sit with my back to the headboard. I pull her up and she climbs between my legs. I press my feet together, leaving a little basket for her to sit in. She drapes her legs over my ankles and pulls the first book into her lap.

“Ready?”

“Weedy!”

And we dive in.

When we read the Grouchy Lady bug, she loves to hear me do different voices for each new animal. She joins along when we say “Hey you! Wanna fight?”. And she giggles when the whale whacks the ladybug with its tail.

And then we move on to the next book. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is lots of fun. We sit up straight and bop along from side to side as I read the book. And when they all fall out of the tree she says “Oh no fall down!!”.

When the books are finished, she closes it and says “all done” and we cuddle for a moment before I lay her down.

Bedtime stories have always played a very important part in my life. They have allowed me to have closer relationships with my family members and encouraged my love of reading by myself. And now I get to foster that love in my child as well.

Although she is only 2 years old, she is extremely articulate. No, she doesn’t pronounce all the words correctly or use all the proper syntax or grammar, but she uses several 3-4 syllable words and 5–6-word sentences. She enjoys receiving books as gifts and gets excited to read with people. She loves to show off her knowledge and giggles whenever she learns something new.

I have no doubt that as she gets older bedtime stories will continue to play an important role in our household and I hope they continue to inspire her love of learning. And the Turner family will keep telling tales each night.