The book that changed the course of my life

In June 1988 we moved from Decorah, Iowa to Lynnwood, Washington (a suburb of Seattle). I would be starting the 6th grade that September and my teacher was a woman by the name of Mrs. Whitlow. I was a little nervous since the neighborhood kids called her "Mrs. Witchlow" but being in that class changed my life and started the entire domino effect that got me out to Boston where I met Lincoln and had my wonderful family.

Every Friday afternoon Mrs. Whitlow would read us a chapter or two from a book. I only remember two of them - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch and Johnny Tremain - but those two would go on to be two of my favorite books of all time. Especially Johnny Tremain. I must have read that book at least 30 times in the past 22 years.

You're probably wondering how that book got me to Boston. If you've ever read the book you'll know that it's about a boy living in Boston in the time period leading up to the beginning of the American Revolution. Johnny becomes involved with the Sons of Liberty and participates in the Boston Tea Party among other pre-war activities. The book is beautifully written and ends with a personal reason for joining the war effort. The social and personalized aspect of the story is what intrigued me.

Two years later I had a great U.S. History teacher by the name of Mr. Kipping. He did a fantastic unit on the Battle of Lexington and Concord that made me fall in love with studying history. In 1995 I graduated high school and went to college where I majored in History. I've never been about the dates and hard facts regarding history. To me, the social impact of history is much more fascinating and I truly believe that stems from Johnny Tremain and my introduction to that book in the sixth grade.

After graduating from college I still had a fascination with the city of Boston and all the history here so I decided I would give living out here a try. I told myself I'd stay here for two years and if I didn't like it I could move somewhere else when those two years were up. Well, before those two years were up I was married and seven months pregnant with Hannah so I guess I made the right choice. As of this coming June I will have lived here for 11 years making Massachusetts my home state longer than any other state that I've ever lived in.

The reason all of this is going through my head today is that Hannah and I are about to start reading Johnny Tremain together for the first time. Her final photo essay isn't due until May but we're going to the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington this April to take her final photo for the project. Before we go I want to read Johnny Tremain to her.

I'll be honest, I'm a little worried. She's years younger than I was when I first read the book so maybe it will be a little over her head. What if she doesn't like it? What if she finds it boring? I don't need Hannah to like everything that I like but that book means the absolute world to me and I'll be devastated if she doesn't enjoy it. Maybe I'm just trying to relive what, to me, would have been the coolest thing in the world at her age. The idea that we can actually see history being reenacted in front of our very eyes.

I know that she is her own person and will have her own interests in life but I really, really, really hope she enjoys this experience. After that I'll let her get a tattoo, dye her hair pink, and date a boy named Rat. She just needs to enjoy this with her Mommy first. Deal?