Library Hour, A Saving Grace

As a child I would look forward to Library hour. Because it meant that I would have another chance to go into a universe of wonder, imagination and exploration where there were no grades to be worried about and no anxieties whether I had to stand in class to participate. In the library, there was only me, my book positioned perfectly on a book stand, the words spread out before me weaving stories of dragons, castles, adventures and mysteries. Of course the 1 hour that was always too short. The love of reading has led me to be creative in so many ways. It certainly has led me to a path of storytelling in written and spoken mediums through the various roles I play in my own life—mother, wife, teacher, guidance counselor, mentor, writer.  But most importantly, I remember all too well how reading had been my place of refuge in the stress of childhood and adolescence that I certainly had no control over. Reading became my saving grace. It is where I first learned compassion, first knew of the nature of friendships—their comings and goings. It is where I first experienced the pain of heartbreak, Where I first grappled with the idea of loss, where I first immersed in the possibilities of redemption from any form of transgression. Obviously at the time I did not use these big words yet. But in retrospect, I feel that I was able to ease myself into understanding the magnanimity of such words. Call it reading comprehension or analysis. I simply call it reflection. The ability to pause, think, consider and mull over and to contemplate the joys and vicissitudes of reality.

And so in this day and age of technology where reading a full story is replaced by instant gratification games, I wonder how our children find solace. I am curious how they find the necessary quiet where they can hear themselves think. I am worried how they find the space between the noise and stress to decompress and just be themselves without fear or anxiety. I ponder on how they might be reflecting on their daily lives.

But then again I have learned over the years of spending valuable time with children as a guidance counselor and teacher that it is not up to me. I certainly have no control over what they do when they leave the school grounds as the bell rings. I do acknowledge however that too often school has been a second home for many. Maybe even their true home. The place where they feel the safest. So we teachers and school staff do our best to give them the place they need. And the library may yet be one of the best spaces to give them the much needed comfort and respite. The same way that it has been for me. And perhaps for many who has ever been to a library at least once or twice in their life.

The wooden bookstands we ordered from an independent manufacturer Sandig Artikulo arrived today. Tomorrow the children will come and enter a world of wonder, imagination and exploration. It will be just them, their chosen stories, beautifully spread out on these wooden bookstands, words interspersing to weave adventures, mysteries and boatloads of life lessons. And hopefully, as I did when I was a child, they will realize that time will always be too short with a good book as company. I hope too that they will find in the times that call for joy and celebration, they learn, through the stories they read, to pause, reflect and be tremendously grateful for the life they have at this very moment. And most importantly, in the trying times of their young lives, I hope in my heart that they find stories that will be their saving grace.