My son, the bookworm

My younger son is a bookworm. It's either genetic or a result of all the books I have given him through the years. This is probably how I became a bookworm, now that I think about it. Thanks, Mom! We are book people here, after all.

Every year before the bounty of Christmas, I try to organize his bedroom and playroom. This prevents awkward duplicate gifts and reminds him of just how much stuff he has accumulated through the year. His bedroom has a wall of shelves, with cabinets on the bottom to hold smaller toys. In the playroom, there are several shelves filled with books and a full closet for superheroes, cars, legos and art supplies.  For years, I have kept several of the classics on the highest playroom shelves. These were the books he wasn't quite ready for, either content-wise or ability-wise, and that I didn't have room for in my other bookcases.

This year, all of his bookshelves were completely filled. We made a box of giveaways, but very few books made it in there. There are a few exceptions. I could only smile and wince a little when he showed me all 4 copies of Tuck Everlasting that I have bought him over the years. He's reached a milestone in his development as a bookworm. He wants to keep his books because he wants to reread them. This fills me with pride.

This also presents a logistical challenge. My boy needs more shelves. When I suggested a shopping trip to buy one, my husband thought I was kidding. He's not really a book person, his only real flaw. I pouted. He suggested that I weed through my books and share some of my shelves with the little big man. It almost got ugly. There are no weeds in my garden of books. I would have run out of room eons ago otherwise.

In the end, I love my new bookcase. It's pretty and in my office, disturbing no one. I transferred some of the classics for when my son is a little older into the new bookcase. I will probably reread many of them, since I won't need a stepladder to retrieve them. My boy now has enough room for his current reads that I think he can make it through the year, and peace reigns in my small kingdom once more.