Did you know that it's considered rude to read while you're in someone else's presence? The first thing that comes to mind is a father reading a newspaper, especially one who reads his periodical at the breakfast table.
Yet there's something in me, whether learned or inherent, that yearns for reading material when I find myself with a meal before me. I'll grab anything--a cereal box, a periodical, a child's sketchbook--because it just seems necessary for me to feed my mind while I feed my face.
Still, we've maintained a rule in our home that there is to be no reading at the meal table. If I or another family member is eating alone, that's different. But if it's a family meal with one or more people present, the book must be eschewed while we chew.
Yesterday, while I put the finishing touches on a BLT lunch and the kids prepared the table, I thought about my current read, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and I ached to digest it along with my bacon sandwich, but, hey, I knew the rules.
But, hey, I MAKE the rules.
And so, as I set the lettuce and mayo on the table, I announced that no one may eat unless they come to the table WITH a book in hand! This, I said, will be a reading lunch! It will be considered rude to talk during this meal, so if you must eat, you must also read! After all, the reason it's ill-mannered to read in another's presence is because the other then has nothing to occupy themselves. Well, I suppose the other reason is because it's assumed that one's reading material is more interesting than one's present company, but we all know in this household that such is not the case. We're all very interesting. :-)
Everyone came to the table with a book. I, of course, with The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Bard with Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Caroline Stevermer, Patricia C. Wrede, Houdin with Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic by Mark Wilson, Monet with The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and Sweetheart with Doll Party by Shirley Albert (which was the first book Bard ever read independently).
It was a moderate success. There were two of us, Bard and I, who were nose-first into our books, while the others wanted a combination of reading and general conversation. But I liked it. It felt good, right, and free.
Rewriting the rules: another benefit to being a homelearning family
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