Year 3, week 24: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

This week's book:
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
By Fred Rogers

This week's book is a book of poetry written by Mr. Rogers. I checked out the audio book from the library thinking I would like to hear some of the poems written by such a special place in my heart from my childhood. Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were my favorite two television shows as a child, and I have tried to share them with our kids. Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood have both been hits with our babies, thank goodness!

A few days ago on the ride to school I asked the kids if they wanted to listen to the audio book, and they agreed. It was a nice calm way to drive to school and decompress from getting ready for the day. Our oldest has struggled hard this year; second grade has been very difficult for him. We have had to add yet another medicine that can hopefully bring him closer to being more like an average second grader, on top of all the things he has to take for eczema, allergies, and asthma. It had been a year of realizing that yet another thing that makes our little guy different and difficult. I have struggled hard with the fact that there is another issue he is going to face in his life.

This book is very amazing. It reminds us that we are all different in special ways, even when we don't think we are. We all have a voice, and that voice is important. I have had a hard few days of feeling like a crap mom and not seeing my children as amazing individual snowflakes… just jerks that make me cry. This is the first audio book that my son asked to restart when it was done, and he requested for me not to listen to it when he wasn't in the van. I really think I might need to get a copy of the audio book to calm us on the way to school.

I highly recommend this book, it's such a light and positive ray of sunshine in these dark times of negatively. Mr. Rogers was truly one of a kind man.