"My Daughter is a Librarian" T-shirt

My love of books began at an early age. Mom would herd us kids into the car and transport us to the library where we enjoyed storytime or selected massive amounts of books to take home. (For those Tampa folks who are curious, my library as a child was the Town 'n Country Branch.) Once at the house, we had to make sure we didn't mix the library books in with our personal books, which lined the bookshelf in my room. I grew up with Nancy Drew, the Babysitter's Club and Christopher Pike. I remember discovering Frank Herbert's Dune series and my frantic search for the next book and following the Challenger explosion, I checked out every biography on Christa McAuliffe.

Sitting in a comfy chair in the evening reading a book, I am reminded of the many years I watched my mother doing the same thing because I acquired my voracious appetite for reading material from her. Mom will regularly call me to ask for recommendations on the latest books and we have both lamented the loss of Borders.

With mom retiring in the next month, I asked about her plans. One of the first things on her list is to get a library card. What? I'm sure everyone between Indiana and Florida heard my shocked exclamation. Apparently, my mother hasn't renewed her library card in a few decades though she regularly buys new books. But your daughter is a librarian, I declared as if this meant she should have a card for this reason alone.

Even if I wasn't a librarian, I personally would be a library user. And I am a bit sad that the person who nurtured my love of libraries hasn't been using the wonderful resources available to her all these years. For mom's retirement visits to the library, I think she should wear a t-shirt that advertises the fact that "my daughter is a librarian."