Library Day

It's Friday and therefore, my youngest son gets to go to the library at the school. This is a big deal! I've always giggled at how intense he gets about locating his book, making sure it's in his backpack and then discussing the preparation he goes through to select the new book later that day. For a long time, I thought this was just so cute. A funny little rite of childhood that was long forgotten to me.

Then I remembered one of my library days from long ago.

I remember browsing the shelves for the best book. It was a major dilemma during which I always felt somewhat stressed at selecting the "right" book. Of course there was always a mad scramble to check out the book that had been read to us by the librarian that day and for those of us who were too slow to claim that one, we were left to wander what seemed at the time to be endless shelves of books.

I only remember a handful of the titles I selected on library day but what struck me about my memory was not the books I had selected/forgotten but the feeling! The feeling of complete control, of anticipation and power! I GOT TO CHOOSE! It was the one thing, as a child in school, that I had complete control over. This was not just a time filling exercise but a manifestation of my psyche, my mood and intellect. Of course that's not what I thought at the time but reliving that little blip from my past allowed me a new perspective on my life.

That led me to wonder, what is my Library Day now? What events do I enjoy that give me a feeling of control? What events/practices do I choose to participate in because they bring confidence and satisfaction at the outcome?

There are a few things; talking with friends, praying, eating good food, cleaning my house and posting on this blog. (Of course there are more but you only have a minute and I have other things to do.) What I love about each of these things is that they require a choice on my part, an easy choice that bears little consequence to each day but accumulated makes a huge difference in the long run.

And just like my days in elementary school, there are choices (books) I select because they seem easy. Some are chosen because they look good, others are avoided because I'm lazy or scared. In any event, it is entirely up to me.

I want every day to have a Library Day moment in it. An inclusion of some thing or event that I get to choose, with purpose and design, to add a small impact to the accumulation of my life.