Stillness. There it is. From rushing here and yon, planning, preparing, going, doing.... it is rare. If I look for it, I can find it. That's easy to say now, that my four children are grown. I can remember when a trip to the bathroom was fraught with perils beyond the door lock. You never knew what was going to happen and what you might miss, just because of your tiny escape to the bathroom. I kept a Reader's Digest in there, because, well, because.... you could read a whole book in, say, 20 minutes, if you were fast. So I learned to read super fast. And type super fast. And fold clothes super fast. All those Wonder Woman skills that I remember seeing my Mama whip out in record time....I would say to her, "How do you do that so fast?" She'd say, "Lots and lots of practice." Then eventually I became the skilled one. There's not a lot of room for perfection-worry when life's going on without you if you don't get stuff whipped out in a jiffy.
On another note, but talking about Reader's Digest made me think about it. The Library. Oh how I love the library and books. I would (and do) get two armloads, one for me and one for our kids. We'd carry them home in a milk crate. I still like to read 4-5 books simultaneously....one in each bathroom, one beside the bed, one in the living room by my chair.... The number of bathrooms in our house has always dictated how many I might be reading at any given time. Oh yeah, and there's the tub too. Tub adventures. Hmmmm. One day, years ago, I asked my brother to borrow a book and he wouldn't let me borrow it. He told me that he would only be BUYING me books from now on, and that I would not be borrowing them from him. I was offended. Until he told me that the last book I borrowed came back looking like one of those old Reader's Digest Christmas trees we used to make out of folded books....not to mention that it also had bite marks on the cover. He checked and said that the bites were definitely human and definitely adult-sized. How can I help it if the book slips into the tub while I'm trying to balance my ice cream in the other hand?!!! He's been true on his promise to buy me books, thankfully, and gets me the awesome ones. Back to the Library. Libraries would be just peachy if it weren't for those people they employ, Librarians. Librarians do not like me. I don't understand that. I have lots of joy and happiness when I walk in there. Most people really do like me. I love books. I love lots and lots of books. And so do Librarians, correct? But Librarians believe that those books belong to them and not to me, the tax-paying public. They are always really nice when I first come in, and then they seem to get upset when I don't bring books back, when I make too much noise in there, and especially when I DO bring the books back but they have bite marks on them. What gives?! I mean, how many times does that one book actually get read? Surely only a few, right? Especially if they're paperbacks. They get read a couple of times then go in the 25-cent bin, where I buy them and then trade them in at the used book store for more books. Why would I keep most books? I'm only planning on reading them once, maybe, maybe twice, unless it's the Bible, so why all the hostility? Either way, when we moved to Villa Rica, I don't think these Librarians here got the memo, so somehow I have been able to remain incognito for a year and a half. Maybe it's because I've gained some Ninja-Library-Sneaking skills. I don't know..... Meanwhile, if I call you a Librarian, that is not a compliment and it probably means that you need to lighten up (don't mention what it is that I need to do). Since I don't actually call anyone that to their face, maybe it will go well and I won't get tarred and feathered yet. Many apologies to all decent and good Librarians that I may (and surely) have offended in this life. You are truly better than me and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
