For years my husband and I have enjoyed an evening devotion. Initially, we took turns reading meaningful sections out loud to each other and discussing them afterwards. It was during this reading time that I realized he was losing the ability to read outloud. He would stutter, read words incorrectly, leave out words,(especially words by the margins - he eventually said they just fall off the page) and gradually he just gave up reading outloud. Every once in awhile, he will try to read a board book to one of our grandchildren. Even with the simplified print and large, common sight words, he has great difficulty. This was actually one of those moments that were initially puzzling because the many doctors were at a loss and their guesses were obviously incorrect. Now I read to him and we discuss as much as possible...then we pray. Sometimes the words come out correctly - other times I know that God understands. I do admit that as a teacher, this is frustrating because I have helped hundreds of children learn to read and love to read - now I want to help my husband -but......
On a side note, we have a pool that is acting up. I am having to do more and more of the maintenance (a huge learning curve for me because this was always "his" job)...last night we had to flush water out of the pool to get the chemicals balanced and I get a big fail on my behavior because I frustrated my sweet hubby as he was searching for words to help me understand. (And I still don't understand...)This list is going on my wall to remind me to do more of the things mentioned even when I am frustrated and overwhelmed.....very simple words for the tornado that was whirling around in my heart last night. Thanks for all the posts on this matter.....Larry would love to hear you read out loud....bet those words would soothe many hearts.

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