Conquering Library Day Madness

I'm not big on routine. I like the idea of it. I've tried to stick to one and I think routine can and has at times worked for us in the past but often life happens and we like to go with the flow and to get out, especially outdoors. Routines can be boring and restrictive to us. We like to be a busy bunch, flitting here and there but unfortunately I'm regularly paying a financial consequence of following my whimsy and not sticking with just a little routine.

Ah Library Day. It's funny how much I've come to dread it. It's trouble of my own making. Every time we haul up our ridiculous load to be returned I sternly speak to my boys telling them something ridiculous like, 'Only five books each this time....', which admittedly, they're really good at sticking to, but me? Ha! Alas, I am weak and when I find myself between those hallowed stacks of information and knowledge and before my boys can squeak out, 'but Mum you said...' to which I quickly reply, 'Hush child! and fill the basket!', whilst furtively glancing around the library, because you never know, Dadda may have slipped into the library during his break and I might be caught breaking what is obviously a sensible agreement ~ borrow only a few books and return them every two weeks rather than when they are due in the third ~ but I feel myself overpowered by a bibliomaniacal fever consuming me to the point where I've lost self-control and find myself haplessly piling up the books at the borrowing desk where I've managed to grind the entire library to a halt. An agitated line gathers behind me and others stop to gawk and stare at what is obviously way too many books to read aloud in three weeks but I'm too obsessively consumed by the book bug to really care but feel self-conscious enough to mutter to any who are close enough to hear, my feeble excuse, 'We're homeschoolers...'.

Our proud self proclaimed history buff indulges in his
obsession by yet again diving into books about warriors
but this time diversifying with a dash of celts or gauls,
whichever you prefer.

The consequence of my craziness and lack of self-control have been regular fines of about ten to fifteen dollars for overdue books approximately every month. I may only be a few days overdue but I tell ya, that many books, sixty to eighty (we have two libraries in our locality that we love to indulge in) past due by three to five days at ten cents a book....

Kookaburra is having another go at his origami obsession.
Paper! What Paper? We've been cleaned out again...

So I'm breathing a deep sigh and am appealing to my saner side that for goodness sake, enough is enough. The damn council gets enough money out of us without giving it away to them too. So I vow, as of today, Monday the twenty ninth of August 2011, I will endeavour my darndest to make it library day every second Monday and save myself that extra cash! Instead of giving it away to that ridiculous money grubbing governing body I will instead visit a lovely cafe with my two gorgeous boys and indulge in a caffeine fix for me and a hot chocolate one for them. Which only serves as an extra incentive to do the right thing, which is to obviously, get those books back before their due date. Seriously, how hard can it be?!

Before I call it a night I have to share how cute my little guy is. Unfortunately a few weeks ago, he left a book out in the rain. Damp but salvageable he brought it in to me apologetically asking for help. We left it out to dry for a few days and for all intents and purposes it looked fine But! whilst I was drooling between the stacks of books trying to maintain control of myself I'm approached by the librarian holding this same book. She says to me, are you.... to which I reply I am she....we both look at the book which she is holding open and shows me, oh dear, mouldy pages! This books is fairly newish, large and hardcover and I hate the thought that the library which I love, would think I tried to sneak it through without being upfront. We are honest sods and even if it hurts, we tell the truth. So I say what is obviously on her mind, but bearing in mind that I suspected yet more fines awaiting me I really wasn't particularly gracious and I'm sure I kind of groaned out that they would like me to pay for it, to which the lovely librarian says something about checking on the price and speaking to her supervisor when my little boy, bravely says in the sweetest clear voice, 'I had an accident.' If I felt remotely cross with him it was totally washed away with that courageous admission.