Storytime

I have taken a few days off of work, since Lone Star Pa went back on Monday and the Lone Star Baby starts her new school on Thursday and the Lone Star Girl doesn't go back to school until Monday...lots of schedules to manage here! Since I'm off, I took the girls to the library this morning so the Lone Star Baby and I could attend storytime.

Storytime is one of those things. It is something that, in my life, has taken on more meaning than it really should have. My family loves books and reading and the libraries are our homes away from home. We can, in spite of our busy schedules, be found there at least once a week, often more. Storytime is definitely our sort of thing, something I would love my babies to get to do regularly. They have rarely gotten to go, though. Storytime is in the morning, weekday mornings. Usually, on those mornings, Lone Star Pa and I are at work and the Lone Star Baby is at daycare. Sometimes, as often as once a month even for several long stretches, the library has had pajama party storytime in the evenings as a bone to us working parents, but it is usually the first thing to go when the schedule is busy and staffing is short. Storytime has come to symbolize to me the things my kids don't get to have because I have to work. Silly, I know. But true.

I have made great efforts to make sure my kids are not entirely deprived of storytime. Way back when the Lone Star Girl was a baby and toddler and pre-schooler, I used to try to schedule what scarce vacation days I had left after the childhood illnesses and daycare parties so that I could take her to storytime once in awhile. When the Lone Star Baby was in the baby room at her old school, I used to take advantage of the semi-flexibility of my schedule to go in late once or twice a month when I could work late to make up for it and take the Lone Star Baby to storytime. When she moved up to the toddler room, though, the policy was that you brought them in on time or didn't bring them, so that had to end. When the Lone Star Baby was home with Lone Star Pa this past week and a half, I made it dangerously clear that she was to be taken to storytime every week! I even snuck away for an early lunch to meet them there last week. So, of course, I was very happy to be able to take her myself today.

The Lone Star Baby is funny about storytime. She really loves it and spent all of our pre-library getting-dressed-and-eating-breakfast-and-driving-over-there time squealing "Story!Story!Story!" Once we take our seats, though, she is quiet. She knows several of the regular songs but does not attempt to sing them and only tries the hand motions on a sneaky-don't-watch-me-do-this scale. She listens to the stories and claps politely after all the songs, but is shy, I guess, since she doesn't get to go often. She then gibbers excitedly about it the whole rest of the day, though.

The wonderful librarian at our branch who had been the children's librarian there since the Lone Star Girl was a baby has recently been promoted to branch manager. Her replacement at storytime is a retired school librarian who, until last year, was the librarian at the Lone Star Girl's elementary school. She seems strong on good books, still working on the silliness factor. She is completely unfazed by wiggly, wandering toddlers, though, so I know she's going to do great. Today's selections were about the months of the year, with New Year's songs and the every-storytime songs, too. Best of all, she is starting a weekly, evening, pajama storytime. I think I love her.