Mommy Learns to Read

By Ruth K. Fraser

A young wife and mother, whose family were migrant workers, missed so much early schooling she did not learn to read. Her neighbor and friend (Shirley) insists upon taking her (Mellissa) to the public library to find a tutor. The story tells of difficulties and problems in achieving her goal of learning to read. Husband Cory is not understanding at first but with the help of his boss he does support her.
Mell and her tutor (Laurie) became more than student and tutor. Laurie is a Christian and she prays before each lesson and prays for her student. They share their history and when Laurie has a family emergency she needs to go out of town for a while, the literacy coordinator continues to tutor Mell. She shares stories of training tutors and how adult learners and tutors are matched.
Shirley’s husband comes home from Afghan and attends school which convinces Cody to also enroll in the local community college. The two couples become close friends.
There are several amusing scenes in this story which I hope you will enjoy reading,
The book concludes with a “graduation” party for several students along with Mell and other families and friends attending.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Feb 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781489727992

Book preview

23793.png    CHAPTER 1    23795.png

"M ommy, Mommy." cried Susie as she ran from the bright orange school bus into the double wide tan colored manufactured home.

"What now?

Guess what. Joyce and David and Blake and Tommy and lots of other kids are not in school any more. That’s because all their mothers are going to home school them. Will you home school me?

The young mother sat down signing deeply. How do you tell your oldest child that she reads better at the beginning of second grade than you do. Melissa knew she couldn’t keep her secret forever.

Oh, baby, let’s wait and talk about home school later. I don’t even know what home school means.

It means you get to stay home all day and your Mommy teaches you reading and math and everything. Please, Mommy, I want to stay home with you. I don’t like riding that bus with all those noisy kids.

Susie was not about to give up without a struggle. It seemed more like a demand than a request from her little daughter. Mellissa stood as she hugged her daughter and stared into space, pondering how could she ever explain her lack of schooling to this sweet trusting child. It had not been an unhappy childhood as migrant families go, just lonely. Moving from state to state attending school so seldom left its mark on migrant kids. It was a hardship to keep up. One school would starting something when her family moved. The next one would be ending that and Mellissa missed out on whatever. Being shy she found it difficult to make friends knowing she might never see them again. Mellissa, called Mell by just about everyone, was slim with small bones. Her hair was a mousey brown with auburn highlights. Her brown eyes were her most attractive feature on an otherwise plain face with a small upturned nose and lips which were of a small size. Due to her years of working in the fields with other migrant families she developed an endurance quality which proved to be a valuable asset.

She was barely sixteen when she married Cody. He was one of the town boys with a steady job driving a crew truck. She had heard that opposites attract and in her case it was true. Being slim and slow to mature due to malnutrition as a child she had just started to develop womanly features. Eager to lead a different life than her migrant family Mellissa longed to stay in one town and stop moving from place to place. She was easily taken in by the young crew driver. Their courtship was brief but when she became pregnant her father insisted that Cody marry her.

Cody is self-confident and somewhat arrogant. He has had several girl friends but until he got Mellissa pregnant none were serious. So, at 18 he marries the 16 year old migrant worker. This does not change his life style much but his daughter’s birth does. He adores her and settles down to home life.

He is blond with deep blue eyes and has the build of a wrestler, which Code did in high school, Average in intelligence Cody had just finished high school before marrying Mell. Several good buddies join together in the mudding and drinking on weekends. They enjoy watching football on television. He believes the man is the boss at home and also the boss of the family. At eighteen he seemed ready to settle down with her and the baby. Cody still went out with the other guys to night spots on the weekends to unwind or so he told her. He is the boss at home and knows what a wife should do and be.

23793.png    CHAPTER 2    23795.png

T hat evening Cody and Susie sat on the couch reading her easy books while Mellissa got Alan ready for bedtime before cleaning up the kitchen. But not tonight. It was the weekend and Cody had other plans. Several of his buddies were coming by shortly and off they would go to have a few beers hanging out at their favorite bar. Wives and girlfriends were not invited. This was guy’s night out.

Daddy, I want Mommy to home school me. Susie said, not wiling to give up on this idea. She was very persistent about almost everything she wanted and knew her Dad would give in to her demands.

Sure, baby, why not? Cody replied.

Delighted with his encouragement Susie asked. Will you tell her she has to? Mommy always does what you say.

Not even Cody suspected how illiterate his wife was. He took an avid interest in his first born’s schooling and was glad to sign report cards. They attended teacher conferences together. He took the lead speaking to the teacher for which Mell was grateful. She believed others though her shy and reserved. She recalled with horror the parent’s night when Susie first began school. The teacher had passed out forms for the parents to read. Mell asked if it was all right to take them home but Cody filled out the information right then. She had never guessed that the first grade teacher suspected that she had a lack of reading skills

"Gee, Susie Q., Mommy has a lot to do already. She cooks and does laundry and cleans and watches Shirley’s twins some days. And then takes care of little Alan. I