Oh, to be young again ...

One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to go to the library. Back in the day I didn’t have all those techno gadgets to entertain me and often turned to books. They were portals to the places I yearned to visit, things I wanted to try, and people I was dying to meet. After coming home with borrowed stacks, I’d wander to the backyard, climb our big old tree, and settle in to journey elsewhere. It was my favorite place to delve into the pages … until that day I crossed paths with an opossum who had taken over my crook.  You never saw anyone come down a tree so fast!

The library card tucked away in my wallet has recently resurfaced and I was surprised to see it still bore my married name. I have, after all, been a single girl again for nearly seven years. Has it really been that long since I’ve last perused the public shelves? Even though I now prefer to buy books instead of make use of the library, I decided it would be a good idea to update my card and revisit an old friend.

Besides the rows upon rows of endless shelves housing books in which to get lost, wanna know my favorite thing about the library? It’s the smell … that musty aroma of tattered pages and worn bindings. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Suddenly I am ten years old again. Someone really needs to bottle that scent.

But of course, though I still have the inclination, I don’t have the time I did back then. What I wouldn’t give to be a kid again with three-month summer vacations which afford me an opportunity to do nothing but hang out at the library and indulge.

Did I happen to mention I hate being a responsible adult?