Reading Is Fundamental

Our town library has had a number of summer activities for the kids this year. Hubs was reading the calendar of events the other day, and off-handedly told me I should take them to the bubble show that was happening the following day. I made a mental note of the opportunity ad moved on to one of the 5 million other things that needed my attention.

He called me the next day to remind me of the show. He has never, ever done that before.

So I took them (I was planning to anyway, but let’s go ahead and make him feel in control on this one, OK). When we got there, a good 35 kids were sitting around the lobby, waiting out the remaining 25 minutes until they could go in and see giant soap circles. Having recently been shut out of toddler story time, I marched up to the front desk to see if we needed tickets. We didn’t. But I’d read the sign clearly stating the program was for ages kindergarten to 5^th grade, so I pointed to Sabrina and asked if she could go. The librarian said yes. I, however, being a craggy old person, could not.

You mean I get 45 minutes in a quiet library all to myself? I’m pretty sure I heard the angels singing at that moment.

But I was nervous. Another mom friend was there with her kids, and had been the previous week, and she mentioned that underage kids had been sent out to find their parents. I crossed my fingers hoping Sabrina would slide by (she thinks she’s a kindergartner anyway) and wouldn’t get scared without me around. I made Sammy promise to hold her hand, and Sabrina to hold his. I even asked my friend’s 10 year old daughter to keep an eye on them, which she sweetly agreed to do.

For the next three quarters of an hour, I chatted with my friend about her recent girls’ weekend (now I really want to go to The Blathering) and basked in the chance to have some unexpected adult conversation. I certainly would have loved using the time to read and relax in relative silence (and I’ll be taking advantage of that the next time we head over for some kids only activity), but uninterrupted girl talk was also much appreciated. But the best moment in the whole afternoon was when I watched my son and daughter walk out of that show, 45 minutes after going in, holding hands. Score for following directions, and bonus points for AWWWWWW.

It didn’t hurt that all the reading we’ve been doing this summer earned them some kitschy little prizes and a handful of coupons for free food. Win all around.