As a kid attending St. Matthews School in Seattle I remember loving library day. I think it was every Thursday afternoon that our class would line up quietly and head down the hall to the coziest place in the whole school.
I loved library day because it meant the librarian, sweet, little Mrs. Rutzel with her neat white bun would sit us all down on the carpet and we'd have story time.
I loved library day because it meant shelves and shelves of unexplored books, most too advanced for me at the time, but I liked to imagine reading them when I was old enough. (Specifically, I remember the wall of Nancy Drew books- I was always drawn to The Secret of the Old Clock, of course for the intriguing picture on the front. As a kid I totally judged a book by its cover :)
I loved library day because it meant freedom to choose whatever our hearts desired and check it out ourselves- a small moment in our adult-run lives where the decision was ours alone. (It was still the old-school system then, of handwriting your own name on the card and getting a date stamp!)
Most of all though I loved library day because it meant seeing my mom, who was a library helper volunteer and so every Thursday afternoon I was lucky enough to see her at school! (keep in mind this was kindergarten or 1st grade, before the preteen years of your parents being too totally emabarssing to be seen with in public.) I remember feeling like it was the biggest treat in the world to have my mom there. Getting a hug from mom in the library was just such an enveloping feeling of total warmth, comfort and love. I wish everyone the sweetness of a Library Day.
I remember library day. As parents we were required to volunteer for some duty and I was lucky enough to get the library. I loved being in the library with all those books. My favorite part was reading a story to the younger classes. And, I got to see my daughters when their classes came into the library. What a treat, didn't seem like a duty at all.
ReplyDelete