When I was a child, my father would sometimes take me to Lakewood Library after dinner. He'd drop me off in the children's section and go to seek out books for himself. Lakewood Library at that time (built by Andrew Carnegie) was like a palace. The children's section had a huge bay window that overlooked the front lawn, full of trees. A huge marble winding staircase took my dad to where he would find what he was looking for.
When visiting my grandparents in Columbus, I would often see a huge stack of library books in the corner of their living room. My mom's parents were always old, so I pictured their weekdays sitting and reading these books. It was astounding to me. I had no idea you could check out and read so many books!
I thought about these things yesterday as I finally gave in and drove to South County Regional Library, since my happy place, Lakes Library, remains a Disaster Recovery Center. I know it is needed but, dang, I miss my library! I miss the OPTION of my library.
I have specific reading goals this year that are mostly focused on reading a long list of books I've been meaning to read for years. To read these books does not mean to purchase them all, although some I do have to buy. It means checking them out from the library.
Before heading out, I looked online for the specific books to be sure they were available. Then I drove down on a sunny day, listening to Classic Vinyl and feeling so...happy! I wasn't even in the library very long, but I got what I went for...four novels and a Book Page. It made for one awesome afternoon, as I perused the Book Page and started the Jennifer Weiner book.
And in a small way, it brought back a little more wholeness to my life which was stolen on that gray September day.
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