Libraries

This weekend we went to the library on post. They have a children's reading hour during the week that I want to try out but I wanted to do some reconnaissance first. As my husband, a former AWACS pilot, always says, "Time spent in recce is time well spent."

As soon as I walked in, I felt like I was both home and in a new magical place. It reminded me of how much I used to love going to the library. When I was little my mom would take us to the library and we were allowed to pick out any three books we wanted. I loved that time spent in the library. I loved the smell of it, the cool and the quiet, the vastness and the rows and rows of books. The library was always the same, yet at the same time there was always something new and different to be found. I realized it has been way too long since I've been in a library. How come we allow ourselves to get so far away from things we love..?

We have been reading to Bubba since he was born (I actually read out loud to him while I was pregnant). He loves being read to and looking at books. I hope that by taking him to reading time every week we can build on that love and give him some good memories too. I know he's a little young (18 months!) to remember things right now but maybe something like the library will stick with him, even if just in the back of his mind. Like it did with me.

Update: we went to reading time and I think Bubba really enjoyed it. He sat nicely on his little alphabet square, listened to the stories (loved the one with the ball), sang and clapped along with the "Babies on the Bus" book and colored a picture after story time was over. It was fun to watch him watching the other kids. We're definitely going back.