My mom is a big bibliophile. She explains it this way: You know how some women buy jewelry? I buy books. For some time now, since Dad passed away, Mom has been sorting through her books. She has created a stash of books that she wants to pass on to her kids and grandkids. These include lovely hardcover sets like the Little House books; political books; antique books; and anything by Schaeffer, Lewis, or MacDonald. She also has a little treasure trove of children's books that she intends to send to her great-grandchildren.
A few weeks ago, the girls and I boxed up the books Mom did not want to keep. Today, following Gayle's suggestion, Mom had our church librarian come out to look through the boxes. Marlene stayed for a couple of hours, going over each box, and pulling books that can be used in the church library. Tomorrow, Marlene's husband Gale will come to pick up the leftovers to go to a local used bookshop.
I was concerned that Mom would feel sad to see her old "friends" taken away, but she is thrilled! She even called me this morning to tell me how excited she was. And she was still bubbling about it this afternoon when Ev and I stopped by after school. I think it inspired Ev...she came home and started cleaning out her desk. :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mom called me too, which is unusual for her to call about anything--she was excited about finding homes for her books. I didn't mention this, but I am concerned that the books will go sit in a used book shop, where if they were mailed to this organization, they could be shipped to places that would use them immediately. Oh, well. That was my year long project that I tried to get the books for in the first place.. Maybe I will talk with Marlene and find out if some of the books could be mailed to this ministry. So, is our family obsessed with books, or what!!! Yay for Mom and good for Evie cleaning out her desk!
ReplyDeleteI know it is frustrating that Mom couldn't send her books when you wanted them. She just wasn't ready to let them go then. Maybe we could think of this as Mom's own year long project, getting ready to leave this world. Our job is to help her when she wants help, and stay out of it when she doesn't. In the end, they are her books, her decision, her timing.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are a book-loving bunch!