My husband’s business never stops; he is available to his clients at pretty much every hour of the day. On my end, even though I’ve already put in a 9 hour “work day” by 2pm, when I pick William up from school, my blogging and mommy jobs have just begun.
Unfortunately no matter how hard we try, in this technology driven world, it is so hard to “turn it off.” We are all available by text, email, phone call – whatever – at every hour of the day now. I am sure many of you can relate. You get home, you want to relax and be present with your family. but there’s that lingering work email, that phone call to your friend, or that Instagram post you’ve been meaning to get to. So instead of being present, you continue to stay “plugged in.”
It’s a technology black hole – and we are all susceptible to getting sucked in.
I think that everyone has their own specific way of avoiding the “black hole.” Whether it’s working out, listening to music, cleaning the house, or making dinner – we all have things that we do to “unplug.” For me, it’s having story time with William. It is a time for our whole family to reconnect – without texts, without emails, without distractions… and it’s amazing.
My love for story time goes wayyyy back. I’ve always loved it. So much so, that my mom kept all my “favorite books” for the day when I would have children of my own. And when I say “favorite books”… we’re talking three large moving boxes of books. Not a joke. Anyhow, a couple months before William was born, Joe and I unpacked all of them and the memories they brought back were incredible. Most notable however was, Emily’s Trip to Magic Mountain. It was a personalized book that my Grandfather had made for me, and it was my favorite book. I remember reading it over and over. I mean… it was all about me! The girl in the story even had blond hair, green eyes, and a cat named Tasha – just like me! On the inside cover, my Grandpa had written a special dedication to me, and now that he’s gone, that book is one of my most prized possessions.
At my baby shower, I received, W is for William, from Pottery Barn Kids’ personalized book collection, and I immediately fell in love. Much like my favorite book as a child, the book has William’s name on the cover and throughout the story as well. It details all the attributes that a parent would want their child to have… “A is for Ambitious… B is for Brave… W is for William and Wise…” and in short it has become one of my favorite books to read to him.
As you can see from these photos, William loves the book as well. He is always reaching for the pages, chewing on the cover, or clapping his hands for me to turn the pages. I get lost in these moments, and it is during these times that I can truly unplug. Watching him look at the pictures, seeing his little brain take in the letters in front of him, and enjoying his sweet little smile as he listens to the words – there’s nothing better than that.
Story time is incredibly special to me, and personalized books make it even more so. I can only imagine how special it will be when he really knows his name and can understand that the book was made especially for him.
This past weekend I was in San Francisco working on a couple of special projects for the blog, and it was my first real overnight away from William. I survived and so did he, but I missed him terribly. It’s safe to say that this week I’ll be savoring story time, and reading W is for William every chance I get.
If you’re interested in other personalized books, PBK has so many options (I’ve linked many of them below) and their personalized holiday books for Christmas and Hanukkah are adorable. I know we’ll be reading those in our home very soon.
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Other PBK Personalized Books:
Personalized Holiday Books:
*** This post is brought to you by Pottery Barn Kids – all opinions are my own.
