Books by my bed...

As I was putting away laundry tonight, I looked over at my nightside table and chuckled at my tower of books that had accumulated there. The tower resembled a Jenga block tower, and each night as I finish reading one of the books I roll over and lay it back on the top of the pile and then put my glasses on top of that. For the last few nights I have realized that I need to lay each item down very delicately to avoid having the whole thing come crashing down. So, when I looked at my Tower O'Books tonight, I concluded that rather than trying to pry one lowly book from the bottom of the heap later tonight, it was probably time to sift through the pile and decide which ones should stay and which ones needed to be refiled on the bookshelf in the guest room.

So my nightside table acts as my "Primary" stash of books I am currently reading or at least flipping through for information gathering. Then just underneath my bed, right at the edge if the bed frame is my basket of books. This is my "Secondary" stash. These are books that I want to keep handy because I will come back to them frequently, or they are novels that I have become bored with but think I may get back to relatively shortly so I don't want to actually return them to the bookshelves. ( I almost NEVER return to the novels- if they bore me it just becomes too painful to force myself to finish them).

Having no idea what other peoples' habits are regarding bedtime reading, I assess my habits and I think (no, I know) they are a sign of an insomniac. I think a wide array of books at my fingertips is my "drug" for my disorder. I never can go to sleep before midnight or 1am. And when I do crawl into bed at that time, I need to read! I can't imagine that some people can actually just crawl into bed and simply close their eyes and go to sleep. And yet I know people can do this because I am married to someone who can do this!! Then, when (not "if") I wake in the night, I may want to read a different book than the one I was reading when I first went to bed. And I may need to read part of many books before I can feel tired enough to go back to sleep. Hence, the need for a large assortment of books handy to your bed when you are an insomniac!

As I flipped through the pile, I thought the array of titles and topics was quite interesting. One the top of the tower was "Beyond Jennifer, Jason, Madison and Montana". Yes a baby naming book. Although we have decided that we will keep our Ethiopian children's first names since they will likely be older and very familiar and attached to their names, we will give them our "chosen" names as middle names. Although not a great name book, and I do own many better ones, I just haven't bothered to go the the "main" bookshelf to get a better one. And it serves it's purpose. It's kind of like reading a cookbook; so boring it makes you sleepy.

Next book in the pile was, "Real Parents, Real Children- Parenting the adopted child". A good resource book and lately I've had to flip through to find out about temper tantrums. Lily sure can let it rip! Although many books say that being adopted at any age can cause such "issues", I have to say I'm not a believer in that. I think she is like any other two-and-a -half year older toddler who just looses it when she can't have her way! Sometimes when it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck- it's a duck!

Next in the pile was "The Secret". And not to blow the secret for anyone, but basically that book is all about the "Power of Positive Thinking". Hmmm.... I'm a little concerned with how close it was placed to the top of the pile. A sure indication of that fact that I have recently felt the need to work on thinking more positively. That's a sure sign of the season!

And directly under that was a massive pile of decorating magazines that
I 've hardly had a chance to look at in a long time. They can definitely move to the guest room!

In the basket below my bed was "Steps to Independence- Teaching Everyday Skills to Children with Special Needs". This has been my Bible for so many years, and the condition of the book attests to that! However, I thought, the fact that it is under my bed in the basket was a good sign. We have not had many issues lately that needed research or else it would have be on my nightside table! How's that for putting a positive spin on my thinking! Maybe "The Secret" is working!

Also in the basket is "The Out Of Sync Child" and "The Out Of Sync Child Has Fun". Great books on sensory integration issues and fun activities that fill "the need" for stimulation. My newest bibles. But, we have great list of activities we are currently working on, so again I haven't had to look anything up in a while.

Last in the basket was " Complete Idiots Guide to Positive Dog Training". Still working on the "Positive Dog Training" part, but I can easily relate to the "Complete Idiot" part. Some days keeping the dog in line is twice as hard as raising my kids. Parlee is so quiet and relaxed for the whole day when I am home, then for whatever reason at 9pm, she just bugs, bugs, bugs to be played with. My mother told me the other night, she was just like me. I've been known to start a major activity or project at 9 or 10pm! Well, I know she's just a puppy and she'll settle in time. I still need to work on training in a "positive" way when she's driving me crazy. Looks like I may need to move "The Secret" back up to the top of the pile tonight!