My ode to the library:

Oh, you sweet, beautiful masterpiece—full of mystery, wonder, knowledge and adventure. I cherish our visits as much as my kids cherish the first strawberries from the patch. And what magic you bestow on the little minds watching the book return belt…

Okay, but really my kids love the library. Well, my 3-year-old loves the library and by default my 15-month-old will love it too. They love story time. They love the toys. Most of all they love the books. On one of our recent visits, we asked the librarian what the limit to check out was. I felt like we had quite a few books picked out and was worried we would need to set some back. She told us 200! 200??? Did my husband and I both hear her wrong because I was feeling a little risky on whether the 10 in our pile would make it home and back to the library safely, let alone 200. Isn’t that amazing, though? We can go to the library and at one time pick out 200 different items to explore and enjoy.

Maybe the library feels like a sacred place because books are such sacred things. I have a 1st edition collection of Edgar Allan Poe books that I got from my great aunt when she passed. The entire set! I’ve had them since high school and taken expert care of them and then shortly after moving into our house six years ago, my dog chewed one of them up. Was I completely over dramatic and drop to my knees crying—yes! Did I call my husband sobbing so that until I blubbered the words “Buster ate my book” he thought someone had probably died—yes! (See, I told you. Overdramatic!) But books are special. I can remember where I was when I read a certain book and how the words made me feel. I empathize with characters. So much so sometimes that I feel like I am the character or that I know the characters I am reading about personally. If it’s a really fantastic book, I’m unable to focus because I am too busy trying to figure out how it could possibly end or what is going to happen next. Cheers to excellent writing and decent authors that can completely transport you like that! Libraries can bring an escape to people or take people to places they might not ever be able to go. They can open discussions or help people understand differing opinions, but most importantly they can instill a love of reading and books at a young age.

A special moment happened when we were driving the other day. We were stopped at the train tracks with lights flashing and the train arms down and Tucker was ecstatic! I was ecstatic because as soon as we pulled up I saw the end of the train drive through and the arms start to lift. But Tucker was beside himself. He said, “Mommy, it’s just like my train book! The arms come down and lights go red to tell cars to stop.” I told him he was right and then I remembered what I could of that part of the story and said, “Cling- Cling. Ding- Ding. Train ahead.” The train book from the library created a special moment for us. It also reminded me that I need to try to see the world through the wonder of a child’s heart because as people sat cursing that they pulled up to the tracks with a train rolling through, I got to quote a book from the library that my little boy loved and see true bliss in the face staring back at me in my rearview.

What books do you hold dear? Have you read a book that you will always remember? Share in the comments below. Until next week, happy reading!

**The train book that I referenced in this post is one I mentioned a couple weeks ago titled, Night Train, Night Train by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor. I think we might have to snag our own copy because Tucker really enjoyed it!**