Back to the Library

I can't believe we survived the whole three months.

Our bright, expansive, handsome children's department in the public library was closed for THREE ENTIRE MONTHS. Can you believe that? Renovations were apparently necessary  but at times, I seriously wondered if I could last that long. I am addicted to requesting, online, large numbers of library materials as I think of them--say, for instance, the little kid has been talking about death a lot, or we're invited to take a trip to Boston this summer--and having them sent to the drive-up, where I can pick them up at my leisure. For the entirety of the renovation, the majority of the children's collection was unavailable. That means NO copies of Lifetimes, my absolute favorite book about death. No Revolutionary War on Wednesday, the book in which tiny Jack and Annie take their Magic Treehouse to war! I nearly expired.

And the beautiful, large playroom! Don't even get me started about how much I missed the playroom. Or the train table. Or the window seats by the board books. Or spending the entire afternoon sitting in comfy chairs working on stuff while the kids browsed or read or played.

I REALLY missed that last one. The happiness of writing for hours, with the kids, without feeling like I'm neglecting them! And we've also gotten out of the house!

My time of trial is over, however, for as of Monday, the children's room is officially open again. Things are spiffier, there is new carpet, the children's DVDs are in a SHOCKINGLY prominent location, but otherwise, things are back to normal. Story time was followed by activity time, world without end amen, and funnily enough, the activity was the exact food coloring, table salt, and ice experiment that's been on trend on the interwebs lately, so I didn't even have to drag out our crap to do it. Of course, we are very little, so we just watched the salt melt through magnifying glasses:

It was like going back home after a long absence, where even though things may be different, you can manage to settle right back in just fine:

The big kid learned to read while the children's room was closed, so I think this homecoming is going to be extra-sweet for her.

P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!