J.R.R. Tolkien Taught Me About Motherhood

by Patricia Hart, Campaign Account Manager

I didn’t read to my sons in order to increase their reading scores, academic advancement or economic success. I read to open vistas of imagination and to keep, even briefly, cares at bay. Crack open a book and anything can happen.

As a single mother with three very active little boys, a quiet hour every evening— all wrangling suspended, bathed, teeth brushed, Band-Aids refreshed— restored the sometimes fraying bonds between brothers… and me. During that brief daily interlude it was just us—off on a literary adventure together.

I keenly remember reading, looking down at the whorls and cowlicks of their damp hair and marveling at their lengthening limbs. Before long they were old enough to comprehend the complexity of a book like the Fellowship of the Ring; they seemed so big, but not so big that we weren’t all stunned and in tears when Gandalf fell to the Balrog on the bridge of Moria. How could the band survive without Gandalf’s wisdom? How could the boys manage without me? What was Tolkien thinking?!

We read more than a hundred books together. The boys enlisted the aid of delighted school librarians in ferreting out Newberry winners, and we pored over Robinson Crusoe’s diaries. Even though we rationed every ounce that went into our packs when we hiked, the heft of the current book was exempt. The power of the narrative carried its own weight. During each reading with my boys, I never attempted to define or question or teach or moralize, even though I was tempted at times. It may have been a simpler time, although motherhood is always fraught with anxieties and concerns. I didn’t feel the same pressure to produce results in such a high-stakes testing environment. 

We somehow successfully managed the chasm of adolescence, with or without Gandalf. As a single mother, I had doubts and fears, yet while reading to my boys those melted away; I knew that our time together lost in the magical world of Tolkien was what they needed to grow into well-rounded individuals. United Way of Pierce County is working to bring that kind of growth to all children in our community, through our Launch into Literacy program and our strong focus on early childhood development and early grade excellence. You have the chance to enhance a child’s life through books and play by volunteering – reading, tutoring, you name it.

Learn more here: http://www.volunteerpiercecounty.org/