A Story In There

Certain events in my life just belong in my story. Big things and little things, like having my first article (that I wrote in the fifth grade) published on the front page of our county newspaper or learning about apertures and f-stops in my tenth grade photography class where I was introduced to my first SLR camera. Of course, there was the night I met my husband, the birth days of my kids and my year at the beach. Still, at the top of the list was the day I was hired to be a children's librarian. In my former life, I had been a newspaper reporter, editor and general manager of a weekly newspaper. Then, I stayed home for ten years to be with my young children. I decided to go back to work when my youngest son entered his fifth grade of school. I had been offered three opportunities for employment: an insurance sales person for Aflac, a showroom decorator for a high-end antique store and a children's librarian at a public library. I chose the latter; and like the front page article and the photography class, that decision completely impacted my life and became part of my story.

My first position was at a city library, and my first branch manager was an old-schooled librarian. Every morning, we made sure that all the spines of all the books were completely parallel to the front of all the shelves. Actually, that was just one of many rituals that became a part of my library experience. However, as a children's librarian, my main responsibility was Preschool Story Time. I was a perfect fit!

I absolutely love children's books! To this day, I can glean more from a book with 500 words and a great lesson, than I can from a 500-page novel. Most people just read picture books, and think - cute. I read a children's book and I think composition and editing, patterns and repetition, and illustration and color, plus the ten essential items for the reading fair story boards. And I always know there's "a story in there."

One Wednesday - Preschool Story Time day - at the first library where I worked (I have worked at seven, I think), I was unable to come to work due to a sick child. I did not have sufficient time to contact the parents of the preschoolers, so my branch manager said that she would inform them at the circulation desk that the story time was cancelled. She told me to take care of my child and not to worry.

The next day, she relayed to me the sweetest story - a story I haven't forgotten in twelve years. One little four-year-old boy was so disappointed that story time had been cancelled. He grabbed his mother's hand and dragged her to the glass door of the story time room. He then said, "Please look, Mommy. I know there is a story in there."

Awww. My heart still melts when I think about that request. But then, like those picture books with 500 words, I felt the deeper profoundness of the statement. My oldest daughter always describes me to her brother and sister by saying, "You know Momma. She has always gotta have a story."

I know when my kids open the Tomorrow Trunk for years to come, they will be assured to find a story in there. But, the way that small child looked through the glass door is the way we all should look at the everyday rituals and patterns of our lives. Rituals, patterns, plots, repetitions, edits - life is just one big picture book! There is always a story in there. Maybe we just accept that preschool story time has been cancelled for us, or maybe we can be just like a little four-year-old determined to find a story.

This past Wednesday I was driving home on my favorite Mississippi highway. I have always passed a sign about a canoe and cabin rental place called Okatoma, so on this day I decided to stop - to find a story in there. It was a beautiful fall day, and I thought I would just drop by for a leisurely visit. However, when I got there, a sign on the door read, "Closed for the afternoon. Drop by tomorrow."

I felt just like that little disappointed four-year-old boy. At first I just decided to leave, and then I began to see a story in there - patterns, repetitions, illustrations. Even though I had no words, I could only imagine the stories that belonged to that beautiful setting.

I bet there's a story in there!

And a couple more in there!

And bunches of stories in there!

This past semester, my middle daughter took a photojournalism class at college. She learned all about patterns and color and composition. She said, "To think, all these years, I've just been taking pictures!" And to think, picture books are cute. What I really think is that we all have a few important four-year-old lessons to learn about life. There is a story in there!

Dianne ; )