Would Not Have Believed If.....

I would not have believed this had I not heard this for myself. I was in a used book store browsing when this young girl, probably about 9 or 10 years old, passed by me carrying a large load of books. Now I should explain that this bookstore is about half the size of a Starbucks, so you can hear any conversation going on. Her mother and older brother were in the store as well, her mother browsing the romance section and her brother playing a video game rather than looking through the books. Which is fine with me, to each their own.

The girl went up to her mother and started talking about a medical encyclopedia she had found and really wanted. The mother worried that she would not be able to read the book, to which the child disagreed and said if nothing else she would look at the pictures. I was standing there thinking how smart this child was, being so young and having such an eagerness to learn about the medical field.

Her mother finally agreed, then told this child that "I better not catch you reading all the time." Joey had to come and pick my jaw up off of the floor. And she was serious!!! To this day I hope I misheard something in this sad conversation. I am not usually an eavesdropper, but this blew me away. How sad is it when a parent doesn't even encourage a child to read?