Reading Rewards

Last June, the boys and I started a contest to see who could read the most pages during the summer. We laid the ground rules for our contest. For example, we couldn't re-read any books and at least one book had to be non-fiction. The contest was page for page with each person competing individually. With Aaron as the mediator, to settle any disputes, the race was on.

What's the prize for winning? Well, it's actually more like a punishment for losing. If I read more pages than the boys, they had to watch New Moon. If they read more pages than me, I had to read a series of books called Vampire Plagues. (The boys want me to concede that real vampires don't kiss girls and sparkle in the sunshine. All I concede is that vampires are not real and therefore, the author can have them do anything he or she wants.)

The race was nice. Throughout the summer whenever I felt they were spending too much time playing video games, I didn't say I word. I simply started reading. The boys would see me reading and go into panic mode. They would spend the rest of the day reading.

I read some great books this summer. For my book reviews see my goodreads list. The problem is: I lost the contest. Each of the boys read almost 1000 pages more than  me. Something about all my varied responsibilities kept me from reading as much as I would have liked to.

The end of the summer was marked by the release of Mockingjay, the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. AJ and I went to the local bookstore's midnight release party. It was AJ's first release party. We arrived early (When did 10:00pm become early? That's my regular bedtime.) to find the store empty. Yep, just AJ and me with the workers. We browsed the store and waited and waited. Around 11:30, groups of college aged girls started arriving. AJ and I were the first ones with the book and he was happy even though it didn't turn out to be much of a party. It was still fun spending all that time together.

Now the contest is to see who will be the first in our family to finish this book.

One of my favorite books of all time is Outcasts United.  It is the story of a woman in a small town in the deep south who started coaching a soccer team with refugees from all over the world. The team is called the Fugees. It is an inspiring true story that I believe everyone should read.

A few weeks ago I was able to attend a lecture on campus from Coach Luma Mefleh, the coach of the Fugees. She was amazing! I love her story and I thought for such a humble person she handled speaking to a crowd of thousands well. I was more impressed with her in person than I was as I read the book and that's saying a lot. I want to be like her when I grow up.

After the lecture, I waited in line to meet Luma. I told her I believed that one person could change the world and thanked her for proving my theory. In return, she gave me a card signed by all her players.

I've never had an autograph nor met a famous person. It was a great experience for me. I save the card not just for her autograph but for all the players' autographs. I hang this card on my bulletin board so I can always be grateful for what I have and look for opportunities to serve others. That's one of the many rewards of reading. For more information about the Fugees see their website http://www.fugeesfamily.org/