I’m married to a devout reader. My husband is the type of reader who has multiple books going at the same time, gets nervous when he doesn’t have one waiting in the wings, and always reads before he falls asleep (on top of any other reading time he can squeeze in throughout the day). He told me recently that the only time he ever doubted our relationship would last was when he found out I don’t read all that much.

Honestly, I love a good book as much as the next gal, it’s just extremely difficult for me to find a book I like (i.e., I’m picky.) I worked as an editor for nine years, so for a long time I couldn’t make it through two pages of any book without making mental notes on how the writing could be improved. (Talk about a buzz kill.) I also blame the internet and email for conditioning me to read and write with more brevity. But, the fact still remains, I just don’t read all that much.

Our oldest son is like his father and reading is something he does for pleasure. He enjoys trips to the library and is just as happy to get a book as a gift as any toy or game. Our youngest son, however, is like me. On rare occasions, you can find him curled up with a good book, but I guarantee you it took hours of searching to find it and, oh, the drama that ensues if he’s not in the mood to try something new!

Still, he’s at that age where he needs to encounter new words, improve his spelling, and grow his vocabulary. So, like finding ways to sneak in some exercise or an extra piece of fruit now and then, I’ve been experimenting with ways to make words more fun. Our biggest success so far has been Bananagrams. It’s a little like Scrabble, except there are no points to worry about – your goal is simply to use up all your letters before another player does. When it’s just him and me, we add our own spin to the game: we play as a team, trying to use all the tiles in one giant acrostic based on a given theme. For example, the photo with this post is the result of our Doctor-Who-themed game.

I must say, I love that our boys are old enough now to play games I can enjoy (God, save me from another game that involves a spinner!) and this was a nice change of pace from all the crafting and organizing I’ve been doing. Our son thinks I took this picture to show his dad, who wasn’t home when we finished. Truth be told, I couldn’t stand the thought of not having something to show for all our hard work.

Yeah, I’m definitely going to need some help stepping down from the intense level of project-making I’ve reached. Until then, you can trust that my boys will keep sneaking in little breaks for me, disguised as games of Bananagrams, because even parents need help getting their exercise and fruit now and then.