A Storybook Ending

A gaggle of six kids ran into the library while I was watching the front desk; none of them over the age of eight, and all of them talking excitedly and “whispering” their own last name so they could find their holds.

Their mom came in after them, pregnant and calm despite her kids being rambunctious. This is a woman who loves her kids. As such, I trusted her to let her kids know when they were being too loud.

Eventually, they return from the holds shelf with approximately thirty books, all of different reading levels for the differently aged kids. This is a woman who knows her children’s material. 

As I’m checking out books to her, one of the little girls in her gaggle of geese (no older than five) asks:

Little Girl: “Can I have something?”

I’m assuming she means a sticker or a treat, so I give her one of our coloring bookmarks. The rest of the kiddos follow her example, and suddenly I’m a bookmark dealer.

At the end of the interaction, I’m about to move on to the next patron when the (maybe) five-year-old says to me:

Little Girl: “Miss Librarian, thank you for being at the library today!”

My heart has never been so warmed.