Thursday, September 10, 2009

Why I LOVE my Job

Today while standing in the post office, a 4 year old named Ayden, recognized me. He ran up to me and threw his arms around my legs and gave me an enthusiastic greeting. "You work at the library!" he said. When his mother concluded her business at the counter she said to me, "He talks about you all of the time, I don't know what you did, but you sure did make a good impression!" As they walked away he turned to his mother and he said, "I love her!" This made quite a few of the other patrons standing in line chuckle. It, of course, made me feel about 10 feet tall. Even my own kids don't have that much enthusiasm.

So what did I do to earn Ayden's admiration? I helped him look for a dinosaur book, I helped him look for a dvd about trucks. I played music cd's from the collection for him on the cd player I keep near my desk, so he could dance. When he comes in, I say hi and call him by name. He drew me a picture and asked me to hang it up by my desk, which I did. Most importantly I helped him learn that the library is a wonderful place.

I think I'm a little in love with him too. It doesn't hurt that he has red hair and a sprinkle of freckles across his nose. He is charming and shy but bold enough to take my hand while we walk across the building to where the dino books are stored. When he comes in and I am not at my desk, he goes to the circulation desk and asks them to tell me to return. If I am busy and don't notice him when he arrives he will sneakily crawl over to the front of my desk and poke my toe. He introduced me to his older sister, who is also a sweet, charming child.

When people ask me if I like my job, I tell them that it is the best job in the world. Most don't believe me, but then they have probably never had the experience of a child seeing them across the store and shouting, "Hey look, there is my library teacher!"

To the children of Brigham City, Thank you! You really do make this the best job in the world.
Michele, Children's Librarian

3 comments:

Valerie said...

loved this, michele. . . I'm not surprised you have a fan base:)Valerie

Diane said...

Wonderful! And so true! If sound effects are any indication, you do a great job, Michele.

Diane said...
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