Jim Brozina, a single dad and elementary school librarian, feels that reading is part of his job description. It’s no surprise that he has shared his love for books with his two daughters, Kathy and Kristen, by reading aloud to them every night, too. With Kathy, Mr. Brozina was only able to read to her until 4th grade when she wanted to finish books herself. Kristen, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
The pair made a pact when Kristen hit fourth grade to read 100 more nights in a row. When they reached this goal, Kristen challenged her father and said “Let’s make it a thousand.” Despite the odds, Mr. Brozina and his daughter reached their next goal of 1,000 nights of reading, and decided to continue what they called “The Streak.”
They made a rule that to continue The Streak, Mr. Brozina would have to read to his daughter for at least ten minutes before midnight. There were a couple nights when the pair wasn’t sure they’d make it. When Kristen was 17, she got stuck at drama rehearsal and her father had to come to the school at 11:45 pm so the two could go off stage to read for ten minutes. A few other nights when Kristen was out with friends, she rushed home shortly before midnight to get in the reading time she promised to her dad.
The Streak ended the day Kristen left for college. The last night they read together in the stairwell of Kristen’s dorm, and chose an old favorite, L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” to commemorate the moment. Kristen felt that The Streak brought her a lot of comfort and stability throughout her life. The time she spent with her father was especially important the year her sister moved away to attend Yale, her mother left, and her two grandparents died. “It was just the two of us,” Kristen said. “The Streak was stability when everything else was unstable. It was something I knew would always be there.
The Men’s Divorce Law Firm encourages fathers to find special ways to connect with their kids. Fathers may not be able to read with their kids 3,218 nights in a row like the Brozinas, but taking a little time out of your week for your children can be the foundation for a great relationship with your kids.
To read the original article “A Father Daughter Bond, Page by Page” from The New York Times, click here.
