Lately I’ve noticed that I lean toward working in the children’s room at the library. I have a couple of guesses regarding this. A) No one else likes it. B) I’m so bitchy that I may be a good candidate for this special place.
I side with both.
Working in the children’s room allows me to make certain observations, namely that there’s a great divide between children who want to listen to their parent read a story aloud and kids who ask me for laptops.
Then there’s the breastfeeding moms who manage to text while they nurse. Talk about multitasking. I can’t help but think about the little beams of cancer-causing agents going between her cellphone, her boobs, and her baby. I told you I’m bitchy.
Then there are the harried moms who couldn’t possibly put away the 4,000 toys their kids just threw all over the cute little carpet in the room. I can’t blame them. They brought 42 toddlers with them, probably doing another 14 moms a favor, and it’s all they can do to open the door of their minivans.
We have grandparents too. Wanna take a guess as to whether or not grandchildren put their toys and books away? That’s right. Grandma and Grandpa don’t leave without making junior put his stuff away. I love them and any other rogue parents who actually take the time to put away all the stuffed giraffes and teddy bears that inhabit the room. It’s even better if they get their son or daughter to help.
Today, though, was great. A little boy came in with his mom and he actually sat in a tiny wooden chair and listened while she read to him. I thought, “Wow, this mom is awesome and that little boy is great.” They tried out different seating areas…in a cubby-type place, in the middle of the floor on bean bags, and finally him in mom’s lap.
They picked out a half-dozen books to take home and even promoted the putting away of toys to other moms and dads in the room.
They came up to the “librarian’s desk” (real librarians have a degree—fake librarians such as myself do not). The little boy handed over his books while his mom searched for her library card. He looked me right in the eye and said, “When I ride in the car, I pick my nose.”
I just lost it. After a day of the Dewey decimal system, a laugh felt great. Thank you, little man.
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