Giving Thanks, Part I

There's my boy!

On this day before Thanksgiving, I’d especially like to express my gratitude to our local public library for employing the #1 son. He’s been working there for three weeks now, and he’s been gaining so much more than a paycheck.

Of course, what he likes best is the paycheck.

The books are the thing.

We hadn’t seen #1 in his new habitat yet, so the Mister, the #2 son, and I decided to visit him last night while he was working. #1 had specifically asked his younger brother to come see him.

No, not his mother, who went through 15 hours of excruciating labor pains to bear him. Just sayin’.

Hmmm . . . curious headgear

When we arrived in the children’s section where #1 works as a shelver, we could see him working at his cart putting books in order. As we got closer to him, I couldn’t help but notice something odd—what he was wearing on his head. The other day he had asked me if we had any ear warmers. Thinking he wanted one for a video, I gave him one I was able to find quickly.

Apparently, he did not want the ear warmer for a video! For there it was around his head. On closer inspection, I could see he was trying in vain to cover up a wire snaking from his ear through his shirt.

Me: “Are you listening to your iPod Touch?”

#1 son: “Why would I do that? It’s against the rules.”

Yes, it is against the rules! However, #1 is used to music filling his ears as often as possible. He doesn’t have to converse with anyone there, so he figured why not listen to tunes to make the time travel faster. Hope it doesn’t get him fired!

Two of my favorite children's books

Lovin’ the library

I’ve always loved the library. Back in the day, my two older sisters, my little brother, my mom, and I would walk what probably was three miles to the library, check out books, and walk back home (my mom didn’t drive). It’s one of my favorite memories! There was no money to buy books, so we were very grateful for the library, because we loved to read.

Curious George . . . on steroids, apparently

When I was a kid, I pretty much lived in the children’s section of the library. My mom would go off to the adult side with its books filled with tiny print and no pictures. Intriguing but not as much fun.

Everyone loves Franklin!

Walking around the young adult part of our local library showed how much it was still the same (there’s no changing that Dewey decimal system) yet so different (computers are a hot ticket for the kids to use, plus there are audio books and videos to check out as well as books).

#1 looks at a Nicolas Flamel book that he's about to shelve.

It’s still a fascinating place for the kids, as well as the perfect spot for my #1 son to learn and gain confidence as a worker. And for that I’m extremely grateful.

These two characters

I’m also giving thanks that my sons get along so well . . . most of the time. Like any siblings they fight, occasionally with wrestling. But for the most part they enjoy each other’s company and like hanging out together.

Brothers who genuinely like each other? It doesn’t get any better than this!