too good to be true

if you know me in real life then most probably you've heard me say this phrase a lot, or maybe a LOT, simply because in itself it's a "too good to be true" phrase, don't you agree?

anyway, this time i'm describing a gift i've just received, it's a combination of a request and a gift... to tell you the truth, at the beginning when this 3D or maybe 3B dream came true part of me wondered why didn't i dream bigger.. i.e ask for more books from my to-read-list, but then i heard the whisper of my conscious voice it out: "greedy!!!"

so i'm now over the excitement/regret/greediness/celebration mood and into the satisfaction/gratefullness/self-pinching mood, i have started to make more realistic plans for these precious ones you see in the picture. THREE new books cannot not be "too goo to be true"... mothering an infant and a toddler, then a toddler and a pre-schooler in terms of reading and my relationship to books (specifically) has been a forced and unwanted rehab program i had no idea i'll be signed into against my will, and yes i did sufferer from withdrawal symptoms often... only parenting and "what to expect" books were allowed in that program...

many mothers i know say a variation of this sentence, in person or through their writings and blogs: "there were certain things i said i'd never do when i become a mother... yet i find myself doing them" it's part of the unrealistic dreams and images of motherhood that we all have BEFORE becoming actual mothers ourselves, we used to criticize certain actions or choices of other mothers, but when we were all walking in these very same shoes we found out that perspectives and priorities change once you're elbow-deep into motherhood.

so reading for me was one of these things, i said to myself: "i'll never quit reading when i become a mother... i won't be one of these mothers who can't find time to read... who on earth can't find time to read? it's a matter of prioritizing your life... bla bla bla" i didn't have time to shower, or comb my hair, or look at my face using a real mirror (instead of a glass window or the plastic mirror in my son's soft book!!! that says "you're special"...) so yes, i admit it, as you must have figured out by now that I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO READ...

as some routines (or addictions, if we're talking about me and reading) started to gradually crawl back into my life one month after the other, reading surfaced again, but not reading books, not yet though, so after my daughter cut her 1st birthday cake in the second half of 2012 i found that the most modern and convenient means to fill my reading cravings are blogs... blog posts are mother-friendly and i'm forever grateful for the bloggers who saved my sanity and got me back on track with my reading habits... first it was Momastery world to which i've escaped for hours (or at times, minutes... whatever i found available) to take a break, "meet" real moms, and dust off whatever have accumulated on my brain cells. Glennon introduced us to Anna at An Inch Of Gray with whom i fell in love, and found way too many things in common between her and myself. then i honestly can't remember how i somehow found myself dreaming about meeting Kelle and her girls (now add a cute boy) in person after reaching her blog Enjoying The Small Things

so my daughter and i, together, started taking "baby steps" she into the real world of walking and me back into the MORE REAL world of reading... from cruising to unassisted walking ... from blogs to books... onward we marched

now the story of picking up these three specific books is a lot longer, and i've been thinking about writing a book report about each one of them, not the traditional objective kind of book report, but the Rihamic subjective one that includes a part on "how i heard of this book" and also "how the book got into my hands after it had traveled overseas with someone who love me enough to carry it in their luggage"... books are made of paper, paper is made of wood so when i ask someone to bring me a book i feel like i'm asking them to carry a tree branch in their suitcase or handbag!!!

so, soon and very soon, i'll be enjoying my own "Lala Land" experience with one of these titles... will tell you later which book will be my first stop.