Art Supplies

When I was a kid, I do not remember having a lot of money.
I learned very creative ways to experiment with toast, top ramen, and eggs.
I still love all of the above foods.
One thing I always remember fondly about my youth was the abundance of art supplies, and books.
I loved to read. I read voraciously..usually fiction books that entertained me for hours. I also remember playing outside and watching TV, so I guess I did not read *that* much. (or at least not as much as my older sister Theresa, who we would only see when she wanted to eat or antagonize us or my father, otherwise she was in her room reading)
Now when I see a book that I remember from my childhood, or visit a bookstore, it makes me so wistful and happy inside. I never remember having used books, nor books from the library-always new. Even now I love to open a new book and smell the pages..It reminds me of my childhood.
Art was also a biggie in my family.
I always had pens, crayons, colored pencils, and sometimes pastels. I ALWAYS had plain white paper. I loved plain paper. I never wanted coloring books, or even colored paper. White paper for me to fill in with my imagination. I would tell my mom that we were almost out of paper, and we would go to the Orange County Swapmeet and we would buy reems of paper.
Funny, when Aidan was born he all ready had two shelves of books. Board books that I read to him long before he could even understand what I was saying. I think he had pens before he was even 1, washable of course. (my mother told me I was crazy at the time!)
A few months ago I bought Aidan two new books. One about being mommy's boy, and another about a missing bear. We read those same books each night for over a week.
Now Aidan likes to read to me. He knows his books by heart, and tells me the three that we read together each night.
Tonight when I picked him up from school, I told him I had a treat for him. He asked "Candy?, ice cream? a toy?" My response: "no." When I fastened him into his car seat and told him to close his eyes then take a look, I was holding up a brand new case of 15 washable markers and tray of 16 washable water colors. His face lit up and he sat there with a smile-ish open mouthed expression. The happiness on his face reminded me of me as a kid, when I knew that I would be using my brand new pens, and art


supplies when I get home.
I love that.