Yesterday, which happened to be a Sunday, we slept in. Our original plans included attending church for the first time in 2 months (the holidays, traveling, having visitors - they all wreak havoc on our getting to church on Sundays, so we usually take a break), but due to a funky cough that Morgann has, and knowing that the children's church ministry would more than likely call us out of service to take her, we decided not to even waste the energy of getting up & dressed, so...we slept in :) When we finally crawled out of bed around 9:45, we decided to go out for lunch, hitting a nearby park afterward. The kids love this particular park because the playground system is 3 stories tall! Even Ian will make the dangerous climb to the top to come flying down 1 of the 2 slides - and he's my cautious kiddo! Anyway, while at the park, I had the random desire to hit the library. Cori at Mommy Stories had suggested that I read the book The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, as it made her cry & cry - maybe she thinks I need to cry too? (Ok, so she said it was a really good story and a must read that she just knows that I will enjoy, but it's more fun to think that she just wants to make me cry!) Anyway, I've been pondering the need for a good book, so my 'random desire' actually had a motive behind it. And, since we haven't been to the library in a few months, we decided to make it a family trip!
When we entered the doors, Michael commented on how long it had been since he'd been to a library, then commented again when he saw all of the computers. He said the last time he went into a library, they had micro-phish...remember that? (Yeah, that's what I thought too...it's been wayyyyyy too long, honey!) Anyway, because I had an ulterior motive to this trip, I settled Michael into the children's department with all 3 kiddos, then made my way up the stairs to find my little treasure. Fortunately, it took only a few minutes to locate my book, so I headed back downstairs to relieve my hubby of his parenting duties, allowing him to browse the grown-ups section for a bit. After being gone for only a few minutes himself, he reappeared book-less, telling me that he really didn't need a book right now, since he'd just started reading Op Center by John Grisham. The kids were a different story.
Based on previous experience, I limited the kids to 2 books each, promising a return trip next week to get a few more. This ruling was met with utter dismay by Alex and Morgann who usually end up with no less than 10 books each, but they promptly agreed when given another option - they could leave with no books at all if they wanted to keep whining. Then something came over me...stupidity maybe? I decided to offer both Morgann & Ian the option of getting their very own library card. I can't imagine why I would suggest such a thing, but I did! I mean, don't I have enough stuff in my wallet without adding 2 more cards to the stack???? Can't all of the kids continue to just check-out their books using my card? Anyway, both kiddos became wiggly with excitement, so I quickly filled out the necessary forms and we headed to the Customer Service desk with books in-hand.
This is when Ian became maniac. Apparently 3 year old patience don't exist when at the mercy of a librarian (or, I guess, anyone for that matter!). I, of course, had chosen the librarian that had very limited knowledge of a keyboard, as it seemed to take her forever to type in our information. Ian started doing a little dance, all the while chanting, "I want it, I want it, I want it". Squatting down to his eye level, I explained to him that the nice lady was going to give him his card first, but he was going to have to be a little patient. Again with the patience, really? Yeah, he wasn't going to have it. His dancing & chanting because stomping and squealing, attracting way more attention than I felt was necessary. But, I figured this little episode might help the librarian to move a little faster...completely wrong assumption on my part! I think it made her more nervous because I think she actually slowed down! So, there we were, watching Ian begin what turned out to be a huge temper tantrum, simply because the poor lady behind the counter couldn't type well enough to suit his needs at that exact moment. And, while Ian did his 'thing' on one side of me, Morgann standing on my other side began continually asking me, "when will it be my turn, mommy?"
All I could do was to smile and simply say to both of my children, "When this nice lady is finished typing, you'll get your card and we will leave", secretly hoping that she would get the hint and HURRY!!! After no less than 2 or 3 minutes of screaming, crying, and begging - not me, the kids! - we were finally in possession of the cherished library cards. Next stop? The self-checkout - because the kids must do it themselves, you know!
And while all of this was taking place, all I could think was "This is why I don't come to the library with all 3 kids by myself!" Michael just smiled a knowing smile, grabbed my hand, and we left with no less than 11 books in hand :) Then another thought struck me - we should make this a weekly, family trip - and so it will be, for at least 1 more week.
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