A short story about part of my most intimate memories at home with my father, and how a simple act like reading a short collection of his favorite books brought us all together in harmony.
When I think about my dad, I think about his laughter, his passion for traveling, and his love for history and reading. My father was a tailor by trade, but in his spare time he would indulge in reading a mini-series in the "reader's digest." Not many remember this publication back in the 70's, but my dad had his yearly subscription mailed to him right to the house. Just seeing the mailman hand-deliver that little brown package was like Christmas.
My brother and I would fight over who would give, my dad the package, this was because my dad's facial expressions were priceless, with oohs and awe's. "Miren que bonito" my dad would say, my brother and I were in awe of the various colors and binding of the books, with gold letters both bright and bold. My dad's excitement for this delivery was the highlight of everyone's day, especially my brother and I.
After a while, my mom would direct each of us to go clean something or go do something productive around the house. Taking our focus away from the momentous excitement we had witnessed earlier that day. We would eventually sit in the kitchen and inquire if he, my dad, had looked over the various books and their stories, and which one would he like to share. Each of us would grab whatever we saw first, an odd chair was taken from the dining room and the other chair from the kitchen or wherever.
The anticipation of what my dad was going to share was building up, and we would hurry up and get what we needed so we didn't have to get up in the middle of the story. "Listos" my dad would say, "okay" I would raise my hand, following mine, my brother would say "okay-okay go!"
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Looking back, I can honestly say that the "readers digest" became a feature focus of many evenings, and storytelling nights. The reader's digest and the many stories read by my father allowed my brother and I, to be taken to exotic and far away places.
Personally, as a young naive girl, this gave me a sense of wonder and endless dreams, of a world full of magic and awe. And like everything in life, after a while, my brother and I would not fight over the "readers digest" anymore. The interest and the enthusiasm of the yearly subscription of the "readers digest" was not the highlight, nor was sitting around and listening to the stories my dad would read, seem so important anymore. Sadly, we grew, and our interests were boys and girls. He had a girlfriend and I was involved in a high school sorority.
When I look at my father's collection of the "readers digest" it takes me back to simpler times, where my brother and I were much closer, and when family time had more meaning. Times are different, but making time with family is priceless, especially if you have the "readers digest."
Thank you for taking the time to read my story, xoY💕
