Once upon a time...

These are words that to this day make my heart race. My favorite stories growing up were always fairytales. They almost inevitibley had a damsel in distress, a handsome hero to come and sweep her off her feet and carry her away to live in true love forever, after slaying the proverbial dragon of course. Reading to me has always been an escape. I didnt have a bad childhood, there were certain things I went through that were difficult but many many people have been through much worse. Things were alot different when I was younger though, we didnt watch near as much TV, we certainly didnt spend hours playing video games, although ATARI was fun. I may be showing my age but yes, I remember Saturday morning cartoons (I especially liked Smurfs.) I remember when we got our first VCR, first microwave, the first time I had microwave popcorn, when Nintendo first came out, etc. On a rainy day we didnt plop down with the computer or sit in front of 100 channels to surf through, we read. My mom was a reader, and I think I developed my love of reading from her. We didnt have alot of money growing up and with a library card, books were free. I could go on all kinds of adventures, to all different lands. I learned so many things. I remember sneaking into my older sister's room when I was young, probably ten, maybe eleven and stealing her VC Andrews books so I could read them. By the time I was in Junior High I was checking books out from the high school because I had read most of the ones they thought were age appropriate. I love all kinds of stories, I am especially partial to romances and horror. What a combination!! I am a sucker for a good romance though, I want books that make me giggle with glee when the main characters finally realize their love for each other and have that first real kiss. Or I want a book that makes my pulse pound and has me figuratively on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next. So thank you Brother's Grimm, I guess I never outgrew it, because no matter how you look at it, the things I still love are what I loved then. That first kiss when the prince wakes Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, When Rapunzel finds her true love finally and the healing power of love restores his sight, or the heart pounding parts of the stories. Will the witch succceed in thwarting true love?? Will the witch get Hansel and Gretel into her stove? There is alot of morbitity in fairy tales along with romance. When I look back on what drew me into reading, what made me fall in love with the written word, it was definitely the classic fairy tales. I still love reading them to my own children. What do you find drew you into reading?? Was it a love from an early age (like mine?) It could have been nursery rhymes, Mother Goose, or Dr.Seuss, or it could have been a later in life love affair. Was it that book you just couldnt put down in Junior High or High School? If one thing draws all of us together here on this blog it is our love of the written word, reading and writing. I am just curious where that love affair started for everyone else.