Why I do 24 days of reading in December every year

Since my oldest son Brody was 5 we have been doing what we call "24 Days of Reading" every December. Every night before bed in the month of December we give the boys one book to open as long as they had been good all day. If they have not had a good day then no book.

This is something I think I found on Pinterest a few years back and its something Brody looks forward to every year. This year was Waylon's first year participating because he is finally old enough and he loves it so far too.

I have had so many people say to me "24 books per kid?! That's a lot of books!" and I kind of cringe when I hear this because my kids love reading. Every teacher Brody has had will tell us that if they would let Brody just read all day, he would and he would be happy about it. I easily see Waylon following in his footsteps. My kids read every single day and before they go to bed every night. And please, don't sit here and assume that I am buying my children 24 brand new books from a fancy book store every December because you could not be more wrong! I buy books from our local Goodwill. I believe children's paperback books are like 50 cents each and hard covers are about 75 cents each or I stock up when I see a library is having a book sale. I rarely buy new books and if I do they have to be $1 or less. So really, if I buy books all year round I get out of this pretty cheap. But I am a person who buys books every time I go to Goodwill or other thrift stores because I have them set aside for gifts or rewards for good behavior throughout the year.

None of our books end up going to waste either since I am currently working on getting a Free Little Library set up in our yard for the neighborhood kids or I donate them to the schools.

I really love doing this with my kids. Its something we have done with Brody for 3 years now and he always enjoyed it and now Waylon loves it too. Brody tells everyone about it; family, teachers, friends, and always expresses how cool it is to get a new book every day. Plus, its another incentive to keep them behaving this time of year. We don't do Elf on a Shelf in our house (I tell them I am the one who reports to Santa because I have in on speed dial), so this is kind of our replacement and I love it. I really hope it something we continue into their teen years and I hope they continue the tradition with their kids someday.

What traditions do you have with your kids around the holidays? Do you do anything similar to 24 Days of Reading? 

What does depression look like?

There's no clear picture for depression so you can spot it from across the room. Sometimes depression is hiding in plain sight all along. Sometimes someone that you talk to everyday is going through something you just cant understand.

Depression sometimes hides behind and smile and a forced laugh to show everyone "see, I'm totally fine" and sometimes you can see it clear as day on someone's face. There is no exact, textbook example to go by.

There's not always an exact reason for why someone is feeling this way either, so asking "Are you feeling okay today?" Is a pretty loaded question. And there is no explanation as to why someone might deal with it more than others do. There's not necessarily a trigger for it, it just comes and goes as it wants leaving its victim feeling alone and sad.

You may not always understand what someone is going through, but just being there helps. A loving text or a hug is helpful. Sometimes a listening ear is good and sometimes someone to just be by you throughthe silence so you are not alone. Everyone's depression is different. Only thing I ask, is you don't ask me why I am depressed or say things like "You don't seem like someone who would go through this regularly", not my choice.