Thankful, Grateful, Blessed #3

 I love to read and I am so thankful that I have the ability and the desire and the privilege.  There are many people who really don't have an interest - perhaps they struggled in school, or were never encouraged to read for pleasure, to lose themselves in a good book.  Then there are those who have no exposure to books.  A picture book in the hands of a child lives in a third world country is an amazing sight to see.  Those who support literacy programs are opening up the world, one book at a time.

I am not really sure how this topic sprung to mind.  Perhaps it was when I went to my local library to pick up a couple of books I had on hold and I found the library was empty.  It could be that it was a weeknight, or maybe too close to dinner, but I have a feeling it is more likely that indifference or busyness plays a large part in why our libraries are empty or worse, closing.  Going to the library with my mother and later, taking Sophia to the library, used to be one of the highlights of my week.  We would browse through the shelves, pulling out books whose spines caught our eye or we would have a topic in mind and search the library catalog.  We spent a lot of time at the library when we were homeschooling and would come home with an enormous stack of books on countries of the world, cooking, crafts, history, and a variety of fiction titles.  We would read together or read our own books side by side.  People have just too many things going on today, and too little time to enjoy the simple pleasure of going to the library.

I know that in this electronic age people find their reading in other forms - eBooks, magazines or newspapers online, or audiobooks - but I find nothing more enjoyable than curling up with a good book.  I'm in my happy place and I am very thankful for a love of the written word.