I’ve loved words, paper, books for as long as I can remember. Dad claims I learned to read because he had a habit of falling asleep while reading to me and I wanted to finish the stories. I “pretend wrote” before I learned my alphabet, filling pages with scribbles that looked kind of like words to me.
Once I could read I had a book with me all the time. And after working through the stack of library books I was sometimes forced to find something else. So I’d go to the bookcase at the end of the hall and see what I could turn up. This is where I discovered the poetry of Wendell Berry. Short stories by Ray Bradbury and Alfred Hitchcock. Essays by Andy Rooney.
It was an eclectic mix tucked away there by my parents and it taught me to be willing to try just about any book that was at hand. Something I’m still happy to do–although I’ve learned not to finish them if they don’t suit me.
This week, Dad brought me that very bookcase. It’s now situated in the back bedroom and I’ve finally gathered up the loose, homeless books scattered all over the house and given them a permanent home. And there’s still room. Heaven.
The bookcase isn’t an especially beautiful piece. It has some simple carving and feet that raise it up off the floor. It had doors once a long time ago, before my family knew it. The holes for the hinges are still there. It could stand to be refinished and there’s some dust in the cracks. But I want it just the way it is. Just the way I remember it when it was my ticket to other worlds, new ideas, and a love of reading that has served me well.
Meet Sarah
What a nice surprise! Glad it has a home with you.
Dad moved things around and didn’t have room for it–man I claimed it, quick!
so, it wasn’t a surprise. Still glad you got it.
I love that you have it in your house now!
So do I!
What a lovely memory, and a cherished connection with your past – thank you for sharing this with us.
You’re welcome!
I’ve read this about 4 times.
I get the sniffles each time.
I try to think of what to say, but each time, all I can think of “wow, what a blessing to have this bookshelf.”
Sniff.
Exactly.
This post really stuck in my mind – many of yours do, actually, because you seem to have a deep and rich connection with the past that formed you. All of those days are alive in your heart, and a bookcase can be freighted with meaning…and love.
I come from a different place, with a childhood that did not commend itself to be recalled, and subsequent years that were salted with the prospect of sudden violent death, but had little other substance.
In this bookcase, you carry not only your own history…but in telling about it, you’ve given others a sort of spiritual snow-globe, that we can take with us to have a part of your joy, and the memories we never formed.
I hope that you know how precious that is. I hope you know the sense of uplift you’ve created…and, yes, tears, that somewhere there’s preserved a small part of the home we never had.
I am very connected to my past–thanks for letting me know what it means to you.
Love that, Sarah. I remember the bookshelf my mother had in our home. It was a black metal shelf. I didn’t think much of it back then, but I’d sure love to have it now. 🙂
Exactly. It’s less about a piece of furniture and more about memories.