"In My Own Little Chair..."

In 1965 (the year I was born), Lesley Ann Warren played "Cinderella" in a television production of the famous fairy tale. As a little girl, it was a big event to it watch every year. In the musical, Cinderella sang a song that plays in my heart to this day: "In my own little corner, in my own little chair I can be whatever I want to be..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xdn7nEhEZo

It's true, you know? Every word of that song. I think we all need a place to be whatever we want to be. There are so many things we "must" be - responsibilities that must be attended to, lives we must lead - that it is even more important to have a place where we can step outside ourselves and take "mini vacations" in our own minds. It makes us better people and enables us to give more of ourselves when it IS necessary. A book is a special mode of transportation and having just the right place to read is important to me.

I have more than one favorite reading spot in my home, but I recently received a wonderful surprise from my husband when I came home from work to find my own reading chair in my own little corner! I had been leaving the corner of our newly remodeled room empty until I found just the perfect reading chair. I had looked at many chairs over the months and had found the one I liked the most, but didn't buy it (I hate to spend money). My husband decided it would make a lovely Mother's Day present, but the chair had to be ordered and didn't come in until recently.

Reading chairs are extra special for all the reasons Cinderella sings about. In that chair, in my own little corner of the world, I really can be whatever I want to be. I have always found it quite easy to lose myself in a book and forget the world around me. It has saved my sanity on numerous occasions. Stephen King once said, "Books are a uniquely portable magic," and I believe that with all my heart.

When I posted a picture on facebook of my happiness over the great surprise, a friend of mine commented about how he doesn't read in the same chair he pays bills in. I thought he brought up a really good point! I'd never thought about it, but I am the same way. I don't do work tasks, of any kind, in my reading chair. Work tasks belong at my desk or on my couch (I've even been known to grade papers in my bed), but never in my reading chair. Who would do things like pay bills in the same place you transport yourself to other places? Would H.G. Wells' time traveler have paid his bills or done paperwork while sitting in the seat of his time machine? I think not. You see my point, yes? :)

I'm now looking forward to my summer vacation, which will begin in a couple of weeks, for two reasons. One reason is because I will be doing a bit of traveling overseas. The second reason is because I will finally have plenty of time to do a great deal of traveling "in my own little corner, in my own little chair..."

Happy Reading!