my week's occupation

It has been days since I posted. Books (read and unread), journals, magazines, and paper product of all kinds have accumulated in piles around the house, at work, in my car. I was completely stressed out by Wednesday morning at work, but then completely saved by some stellar co-workers and one neighborhood volunteer whom I value more than I will ever be able to tell him (he designed the program of which you see the cover above plus so much more). The cause of all this brouhaha destroying my normal equanimity (I so flatter myself)? Family Reading Night at work – a night where we welcome hundreds in for student awards, free books for the kids, dinner, and family photos and literacy based activities in the library.

This is the second time we have hosted this event, and it would be difficult to describe what a “feel good” evening it is for everyone involved. As a school, we sometimes have a difficult time engaging both the parent community and the greater Shaw community in which we are located. This event brings out the best in all with a stake in the future of these great kids we educate. Thanks to the generosity of First Book and other donors, you could look down our main hallway (as seen above), and see families selecting free books for their children’s home libraries, something not all households had before we started book distributions. 

Yesterday, I missed out on Booking Through Thursday because I was too exhausted to contemplate an answer. Writing this now, I realize that one of the reasons we all love to buy books is because we want a share of the text, we want to possess the words that entertain and inspire us. Not everyone can afford to indulge that desire. An event like this allows children to make a personal connection to a book. You only need to see a child hugging a book to his or her chest like it is a treasure to realize the transformative power of reading.