spit on the floor, and slap the chicken! My big three days from summer vacation and subsequent first grade going girl is an official reader.

All year I've been reading to her, encouraging her to pick words out of sentences, try this phrase or that. All year I've been subjected to eye-rolling, huffing, crossed eyes and protruding tongues, not to mention the times where I pointed to a word and said, "What's this?" and she would answer something like "Monkey" or "Poopie" or "Boooooger."

The thing is, I know the kid can read. She just won't. Or at least, wouldn't. She'd write out elaborate letters with clever, if inaccurate spelling. She has a huge vocabulary, and is able to enjoy chapter stories. The proof of her ability was all over the place, and yet her inner goon-butt would come out every time I asked her to read.

Oh, man. This is payback for all those moments in my childhood when I would answer "Oh, bleh" and flop my tongue out of my mouth in response to any adult request. I finally grew out of that, but I think it took a long time. I certainly knew how to turn a phrase back then. Bawk bawk! It's like reliving my childhood, but not finding it as funny or appropriate as it seemed back then. Great.

Anyway, I was headed down the hall to deposit my snoozing son on his bed (he fell asleep in front of Emeril - don't worry, I've cleared a spot on my mantle just now for my Mother of the Year award) and I heard my daughter talking to herself.

This is normal, but she normally chats and sings quite loud and this time, she spoke haltingly and in a whisper. I popped my head in her room to see her reading aloud to herself.

She was plowing headlong through a wonderful storybook sent to us by Auntie Lu, with no substitution potty words, even. She asked me to sit beside her, and she read the whole thing again, from the start. By the time she finished, I was smiling like crazy, tears of pride burning in the corners of my eyes.

Finally! Finally! Wooooo-hoooooooo!

I'm now counting the hours till I can turn over all reading to siblings duty to her. Bwahahahaha!