As far back as I can remember, I have always loved words. I can recall with amazing ease many memories of my childhood, but up there among the most vivid is my love affair with books, a long-standing relationship that has never waned, instead growing stronger through the years.  Yup, my books and I… we go a long way. 🙂

There was that time I was in preschool and I read right through the entire Reading book assigned for the year in a week’s time. (I was given the rest of the year off, and was rewarded with a 2-month trip to Europe while the rest of my 6-year-old classmates were in school, because the preschool directress told my mom that I didn’t need to go through the preparatory level anymore. I suspect, though, that in reality she was just so annoyed with me. hehe. 😛  I probably should mention at this point that I began schooling when I was barely able to walk so I kind of had the unfair advantage of a headstart, so to speak :D).

Then there were those late weekend nights, always spent with my best friend/cousin two years my senior, where we would read our Enid Blyton books in bed, sneak out to the kitchen for some milk and cookies, and settle back in bed with our books till the sun would threaten to rise in the sky. (She is now a published poet; I am immensely proud of her!).

There were those summers where, out of sheer boredom, I would devour the dictionary, the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica, the Great Books, the Medical & Health encyclopedias, that hugely heavy Readers Digest Word Power book… I went through them all, page by page. I was the youngest child in the family, with a brother as the next older sibling and my three sisters 5, 6, and 7 years older than me: this meant that they weren’t interested in the games I wanted to play (and just my luck, I had no neighbors near my age to play with either). So books became my playmates, and like their loyal friend, I took them with me wherever I went. (Must confess I still have that habit up to this very day).

My bookshelf was much bigger than my toy shelf, filled with the complete collection of The Bobbsey Twins, Noddy, and Bedtime Stories (all 24 volumes of them, which I would read religiously every evening before going to bed–what can I say, I took the title seriously :D).

It must have paid off, though, because I was never at a loss for words. In fact, my siblings would generally groan when I started to speak, because I could go on and on and on.  (Does history repeat itself in this post? :D)

Eventually, my love for the printed word extended and translated itself into an affection for the written word as well.

So now I write.

And as I write this, it just dawns on me that this is one of the great reasons why scrapbooking really ROCKS. It allows me to combine my love for photography with my love for art and creating and my love for writing. It’s like having your entire multi-flavored cake and eating it too! How absolutely wonderful!

Which brings me to this question: Do you love words too? Do they leave a sweet aftertaste, too, in the corners of your imagination? If you too have a love affair with words, then you’re in great luck, because I have decided that my very first freebie will be … tadah! WordArt! 😀

 Now… if only I can figure out how to upload it so you can download it, hahaha! Please leave me some constructive criticism whether or not you decide it’s worthy to snag. I would really like to be able to make goodies and freebies that you, my dear friends, will like… hmm, perhaps even love. Be kind but be honest and don’t forget to “leave some love”! With any luck, your very first freebie will soon be on its way to you 😉

{Credits for photo of book: singhajay @ istockexchange}