chill out, mom.

i recently bought beau this AWESOME variety of books because the kid was literally begging for new books to read.

so this morning, seeing as how we have completely finished school this week, i thought i might gently nudge him into checking them out.

you guys.  he.  CRIED.

not big waterworks, but there were definitely tears welling in his eyes.

so i put them away.

and now i'm trying to sit here and tell myself that i will NOT make him read any of these books, no matter how good i know they are, no matter how much i know he'll like them once he gets started, no matter how much i am itching for him to discover chapter books and all the wonder therein

BECAUSE

i don't want him to hate reading.

it's like a mantra that i'm chanting over and over again inside my head.  i'm not going to force books on my kids.  i'm not going to force books on my kids.

i will purchase books that i think will be interesting to them, place them strategically around the house, and hope for the best.

all the while trying not to lose my mind.