At the start of the summer, our daughter, Nancy, lamented over Eloise’s lack of enthusiasm towards reading. She shared this concern with me with the hope that, as a former elementary school teacher, I could offer some suggestions that would serve to motivate Eloise to read during the summer months. Of course, I had a myriad of ideas. After all, developing a love for reading and writing was my strength as a teacher. So, I came up with what I believed to be a fail-proof plan. Or so I thought.

In the past I had called upon Eloise to help me read and critique two of the books I was in the process of submitting for publication, What’s a Dog Supposed To Do? and The House on Hawthorn Court. Since we had already established a “professional relationship,” I thought I’d tell her that I was stuck with ideas for my blog (true fact) and would she be willing to help me write a review about a children’s book. She, of course, would receive the notoriety for the review since she knew what appealed to her age group. Eloise was totally onboard with the idea.

Eloise selected a book that her friend had recommended and we agreed to read a set number of pages each day. Upon completion of the assigned pages, we agreed to discuss our likes and/or dislikes about what we had read. I was excited to be playing a role in developing her interest in reading (always the teacher). Eloise was excited to be in a position of offering her opinion for my blog. Perfect!

Our first phone conversation was terrific. Eloise and I each read the agreed upon sixteen pages and enjoyed what we had read. She offered her opinions about the setting, plot, and characters, all of which I joyfully wrote down for future use in my blog. We were on a roll! She was reading and I was formulating ideas for a blog entry! Hallelujah! It had been weeks since I was inspired to write. Interesting how the reluctant reader was helping the reluctant writer, a true symbiotic relationship. We agreed to up the ante and read forty-five pages by the end of the following week.

A week later, I contacted Eloise by text to ask how she liked the agreed upon pages, only to learn that she had little time to read that week. She was very busy seeing friends and doing all the fun things that accompany summer vacation. I understood and I simply wrote back, “Okay, we’ll try again in a few days.” Eloise response? “Ya. I’ll try.”

A few days passed and I became increasingly aware that the book Eloise selected for our little venture was losing its allure. My texts were going unanswered and I began to suspect that my good intentions were creating an unwanted rift between us. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw “texts muted!” as the response to my last text. I laughed out loud. Only Eloise would think to mute unwanted texts. Clever girl!

With that last response to my text, it was obvious to me that Eloise wasn’t enjoying the book and, quite honestly, neither was I. She wanted to read books about teenagers, books that all of her preteen friends were reading. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel that she was letting me down. If anything, I respected the fact that she was forthright in telling me that she found the book unengaging. As a grown-up, I have often stopped reading books that I didn’t enjoy.

I called Eloise and had what my parents used to call a “heart to heart conversation” with her. We both laughed over the fact that reading the book was a chore for both of us. I further went on to confess that there were times when I would skim through the pages in order to meet our goal for the week. I told her that I understood how important it is to relax and have fun after a busy school year. Most important of all, I told her that I loved her for the wonderful person she is; although I’m sure that she knew that already.

I don’t know how much Eloise read this summer, nor is it my concern. I am the grandmother, her Yeayah. My role in Eloise’s life is to spoil her with all the love, support, and attention that I have to offer. Eloise is in the process of defining who she is and part of that process is developing the confidence to freely relate her feelings. The fact that both of us were reluctant readers when it came to the selected book just reinforces what Nancy has said time and again, “One person’s yuck is another person’s yum.” Eloise and I seem to have the same taste buds.

One final note, thanks to Eloise, I now know how to mute texts. And, thanks to Eloise, she has unwittingly given me the gist for this blog entry.