Book Club

Disclaimer: when I drafted the 32 Reasons I had "friends and family" in the same entry with local resources, but when I typed it up, I decided my friends deserve a more significant space. You can imagine the rest. We had a running joke about my mom when I was growing up, she used to keep “the most important stuff” like my favorite shirt “in a special place”, and wala, no one would ever find it, herself included. I’m becoming my mom. If it's not for the Book Club, there would not be this blog today. This blog, a reflection of myself, along with my readers' kind words have helped me going in this time of personal crisis. I'm a person made of words, my book club gets me back to reading, and now the blog world gets me back to writing. A Thank You is not good enough. Our book club was officially affiliated with Las Madres, an organization for (mostly) stay at home moms. I was very active in LM during the three years I stayed home with Henry, even volunteered to be Program Director for one year. Although my son is the light of my days, I must admit that I'm not made to be a stay at home mom. I was antsy, unsatisfied without my job, having no money didn't help by any means. I had a lot of trouble connecting with my fellow moms, so when Henry was old enough to go to preschool, I found myself a job right away. Just when I was ready to severe all ties with Las Madres, Lesley moved to the area and started the book club. There came the messages from Lesley about the book club, Lesley pumping her fist preaching to everyone would listen to join the book club. I dragged my feet for months, following them along reading some of their picks, falling behind most of the time (my, these ladies read fast!). Finally one day the tracks merged, I listened to the audio version of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, finished it a week before the meeting, and I have been part of the regulars since. If anyone can be a “bad” book club member, I must be the one. I’m constantly skipping books, even my own picks, yet shamelessly attend (or host) the meetings. Being associated with a book club makes me a better person; seeing my friends once in awhile completes me. I’m sticking around for it.