Learning to Savor

When I was 8 years old, my mom took my younger sister and I to Europe for a month. For the first 2 weeks, we stayed at a friend's house in southern England. One of the highlights, aside from chasing sheep on the downs, was tea time. We would go out for tea, naturally, but the best part of tea was the cake, cookie or torte that went with it. After we came back, we would still have tea time, but with a local treat, whether fancy chocolates or cupcakes. The goal was to savor. Enjoy the sweet, but nibble, trying to make it last as long as possible.

I wish I had the ability to savor books. I love to read, but I read quickly and have a hard time putting a good one down. This past week, two books that I had requested from the library came in at almost the same time. Heart Fate by Robin D. Owens and Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs. I really like both authors, and each may only have one book released each year. So what did I do? Read them both cover to cover over the course of the weekend. I could have stretched it out, reading a few chapters a day, but no.

I remember when a friend recommended the Harry Potter books when I was in college. A few years after graduation, I decided to read the first one. Books 2 -4 followed in short order. Then I had to wait impatiently like the rest of humanity for the remaining three books to be released over the course of 5 years. Each time I picked up a new one (and I'm not ashamed to say that I would go to the midnight release parties at Barnes and Noble), I read it immediately.

Now on to a new phenomenon: Twilight. A friend loaned me her copy telling me that I wouldn't be able to put it down once I started it. So I haven't started it...yet. It will be on my carryon for my trip to Wisconsin for Christmas. At least all 4 books in the set are out, so if I am addicted, I can feed my addiction without a problem.