I love going to the library.
Our library is such a hole in the wall that if I want a specific title,
I probably will have to order it from another library and wait for it to
come. Nonetheless, aside from church, it
is the happiest place on earth for me. Sorry, Disneyland.
Since my first child, we have been going to the same library
almost once a week. Now I have five kids,
and we do the same at least once every one or two weeks. We have a limit of 30 books each library card
and a total of four cards. We take that
very seriously! I am earnestly thinking
about investing in a shopping cart.
Last month, while getting my hair cut, I was talking about
this guy who works at our library who has hair down to his knees! But the man who cuts my hair, Jesse, was more
amazed that I even go to the library.
“Why,” he asked, and I had to explain the benefits of making
reading a good habit with children. He
agreed, and he thought that was “cool” that I did this; nonetheless, he told me
that no one goes to the library anymore unless they work there. (I thought that was weird.)
After my appointment, I walked up to the front with Jesse to
pay. Just then another male employee started talking to Jesse, and again, the
conversation about the guy with the long hair who works at the library came up; the male employee looked astonished and turned to me and asked, “Oh, do you work
at the library?”
I cannot imagine life without my library. I have fun choosing new books with my
children and reading at home with them. It is an excuse to share my favorites from when I was their age. I love exposing them to good stories, but I will not reread the terrible
ones; and, oh, how many really bad stories there are. Then, by the end of the week, we need new
stories; and back to the library we go.
Today I picked up the books I ordered last week:
How to Think About The Great Ideas by
Mortimer J. Adler, which I have no idea when I shall be able to read it; Turkish Delight & Treasure Hunts
(Delightful Treats and Games from Classic Children’s Books) by Jane
Brocket; Reading Together by Diane W.
Frankenstein (I’m not kidding – that’s her name!); and several titles regarding
art and children, since this next school year is an art and music year.
And in my favorite corner of the library is the used book
sale. Today I found: A Tale of Two Cities, which I already
own, but I prefer this copy better, 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea, The Turn of the Screw, and Building a Classical Music Library by Bill Parker (again, this will
benefit our art and music year.)
Every library visit, we drive away happy with not a
care in the world. It’s about the only
place I don’t mind government siphoning my tax dollars for.
Thanks, Ben Franklin!
Agh! A 30 book limit per card? We'd never make it. Last week when we piled our books on the librarian's checkout station, he said, "I hope you didn't walk to the library today." We hadn't because I knew the pile we'd be carrying. Sixty-five books later we happily headed to our van anticipating a great afternoon spent reading.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know that there are other obsessed families out there, too.
DeleteRuth, were we separated at birth? The public library is my home away from home.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever go to the library and just wish it was a room in your house, with different wall coverings, of course?
DeleteI often daydream about the perfect location for a house, and walking distance to the library is a must.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed to have access to not one, but two library systems here (although I did whine A LOT when they stopped letting us put things on hold at the one my taxes do not fund.)
I love that at the library I never have buyer's remorse, I never have to tell my children no (although I often do - I have a rule about books that have accompanying TV shows or movies), and a late fee is still just $0.15 a day. Good thing, some of those books hide under our couch for a l-o-n-g time.
Fifteen cents!?! And don't you hate the ones that hide in the car for weeks?
ReplyDeleteWell, overdue movies cost a $1.00 a day. That's where they really get me. Sometimes I find library books in the car that I have never, ever seen before. Amazing.
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