Coffee With Maddie




Last night I went shopping. One of the gifts I received this past Christmas was a gift certificate to a bookstore. Since it was about to burn a hole in my wallet, I thought I’d better go spend it. I love bookstores. But something strange happens to me when I have a gift certificate to spend. I can’t just pick out any old book - I find myself on a quest to find the “perfect” book. I’m never quite so fussy when I’m just using my own spending money.

My shopping experience quickly became frustrating because with every book I picked up I would ask myself, “I wonder if I can find this at the library?” After about half an hour I’d had enough. I left the store with the gift certificate in hand and headed out to my car. I knew where I needed to go - the library. As I entered it, my feelings of frustration were left by the door. For me, there’s something peaceful about going to a library. The peace may come from the stereotypical hush-hush that greets me when I enter, or it may come from the fact that I’ve just entered one of my favorite places on earth.

Wandering through the aisles, I found a number of the books I’d considered buying. I not only felt peace, but also a sense of victory! Now, instead of spending $7.99+ for each of these books I would be able to read them at no charge, at my convenience, and would find my “perfect” book at a later time. A book club I’m attending in February is reading The Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy. I was able to find it with no difficulty and proceeded to the checkout desk. Since I knew the librarian on duty, I told her about my bookstore experience. She told me “The only books I ever buy anymore are cookbooks. Otherwise, I can find everything I need right here.”

So now with my book in hand I was off to another favorite place of mine - Caribou Coffee. I had about 45 minutes before I needed to pick my kids up from their activities. What had started out as a frustrating evening had quickly turned into a delightful one. A new book to read and a large decaf latte . . . life doesn’t get much better than that!!

First Lady Laura Bush said this about libraries: “Libraries are community treasure chests, loaded with a wealth of information available to everyone equally, and the key to that treasure chest is the library card. I have found the most valuable thing in my wallet is my library card.” Actor John Goodman had this to say: “When I was young, we couldn’t afford much. But, my library card was my key to the world.” A key to a treasure chest? A key to the world? A library card sounds like a pretty important thing to have. Have you visited your local library lately? Maybe it’s time to grab your “key” and check it out!

Until next week . . . God bless you and yours! -Maddie

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Coffee With Maddie: Archive;
Blessings
Magazine Junkie!
Maddie Goes to College
Changes
Let the season begin!
Getting Older!
I'm Getting Fat!
I Love a good book!
Family Games
Manners!
Someone to Love
A Special Anniversary
New Year Goals
My Spinal Tap!

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About the Author;
Maddie is a dear friend from the Midwest who will touch your heart with her gentle stories of home of family. You can just picture yourself at the kitchen table any early morning with Maddie, a fresh cup of coffee, maybe the smell of bacon in the air, and a log on the fire to take out the chill.

Talk to Maddie at ...
Maddie@boomerjournals.com