Reading with Mac....

Reading with Mac in 2004

As a dad one of my goals has been not to screw up my son too much with my own bad habits, quirks or idiosyncrasies.   Whoever said values are 'caught' and not 'taught' really nailed it.  Kids aren't paying attention to what we say.  Rather, they lock into what we do.

In spite of my shortcomings, one of the positive values Mac has 'caught' from me is a love of reading.  Actually, my late mother deserves much of the credit.  She always had a book in front of her.  The 'world' I knew as a kid included books and lots of them.   Mac's 14 now and the last year has been especially fun to watch as he's really locked into books and discovered the power of knowledge and understanding.

Our favorite father-son Saturday afternoon activity is hanging out at Barnes & Noble and reading...for hours!  (I'm still amazed that we haven't been banned from B&N.  We're ready to be apprehended any day!)  This past Saturday, we got a late start but probably still put in about 3 hours of solid reading.   Mac likes to read about politics, American history and law.  I generally read about computers, software, gadgets and social media.  

Over the last year it's been pretty amazing to watch this little man starting to build knowledge and problem solving skills.  It's also a bit humbling to be corrected on a regular basis about politics, the law and anything else Mac's really into.  At night before bed, he's now reading legal case books and he seems to be understanding what he's reading.  When I was 14, Mad Magazine was as deep as I got. 

My mom and Mac never met.  About 4 years separated her death and his birth.  But I see a bit of her in him every day he's got his head buried in a book.   


-Pete Thomson
Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/pwthomson