Sparkly Green Earrings by Melanie Shankle

First off, let me say that when I started reading Sparkly Green Earrings:  Catching the Light at Every Turn by Melanie Shankle, I thought I was reading a book by BooMama, when in fact I was reading a book by Big Mama.  I’ll admit this was a slight disappointment to me because way back in the days when I first discovered blogs, I used to read BooMama, and she made me laugh out loud.  Anyway, I don’t relate quite as much to a Mama who regularly posts fashionista commentary on her blog (though maybe I should try 😉 ), but I did enjoy this book.  The theme of it is motherhood in all its glory–how Melanie came to have her child and how motherhood has changed her.  The chapters read like blog posts, and most of them follow a similar format:  a story from Melanie’s life, which she then somehow relates to motherhood.  Most chapters end with a clever turn and a tag line.  I was actually somewhat indifferent about the book for about the first half, but then Melanie related the story of their elderly neighbor who adopted her and her husband (and they adopted her).  Some of the things her very elderly neighbor said were very funny, but one story in particular reminded me so much of my own dear granny, which I shall relate here:

My granny, who lived within three or four miles of the land she was born on her entire ninety years of life, enjoyed country living–it’s all she ever knew.  One of my grandparents’ favorite pasttimes was sitting on their big front porch and watching the cars go up and down their country road.  Better than this was hosting visitors on their front porch.  One hot summer day Granny was sitting on the front porch when a fellow who had grown up at the church we all attended most of our lives came for a visit.  He was a young man, about my age, and he brought with him his wife and their child.  They were all overweight, especially the child.   (And so was my granny in her younger years, and so is most of my family–just so’s you know I’m not throwing stones 😉 ).  After they arrived and sat down in the glider and rockers on the porch, Granny took in a deep breath and commenced to make small talk.  However, instead of her intended “Whew!  Hadn’t it been HOT today?”  she sighed, “Whew!  Hadn’t it been FAT today?”

Blink.  Blink blink blink.

I wasn’t there, so I don’t know exactly how this ended, but I can imagine.

Anyway, this book rose in my estimation with that one chapter.  As for Melanie’s take on motherhood, I didn’t always totally agree with her, but I could appreciate her viewpoint.  All in all, a light, enjoyable read that will occasionally make you think.  Not bad for a book I paid little-to-nothing for when it was a Kindle deal.  (Last time I checked it was back up to normal price, so check before you purchase!)

I read this book for my TBR Pile Challenge.  Two down, ten to go!  🙂

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