One late summer day John and Sue Coffer stopped in for a short visit. Amid the course of conversation they were having over chocolate milk and cookies they mentioned the fact that one of their acquaintances was a teacher at a school that was getting rid of a lot of their older books that were no longer being used, and wondered if we'd be interested in them or at least storing them in the loft of our shop until they found someone who might be interested in them.
Daddy and Mom agreed and several days later several vehicles came loaded with books and other school supplies. They carried everything up to the loft and then stayed for a few hours yet to visit and enjoy fresh peaches and cream.
After they left we all went up into the loft and started digging through all the boxes. I had never seen so many books in my life and was thrilled with everything, there were boxes with paints, pastels, construction paper, microscopes, and any other school supply you could dream of.
We took some of the things into the house and Mom got us started on some art projects. It was so exciting thinking of all the things we could do with everything we had.
A few days later John, David, and I were playing in the sandbox when we decided to go up in the loft and look at more of the books and things that were waiting on us. We were soon settled contentedly amid the piles of boxes, looking at the pictures in the reading books, David soon got bored and started playing with the door knob. John and I didn't pay him any mind, the books and microscopes were much more interesting.
After a while we noticed several wasps flying around and I told John to go get a fly swatter, he ran to the door but couldn't open it. I went to help him but couldn't turn the knob either. We tried to unlock it without success. The loft suddenly didn't look inviting as we started calling for Mom. She didn't answer and we started crying, the wasps kept buzzing around, the sun started going down, we were getting to be very warm, and our voices almost hoarse from crying by the time Mom heard us. She came with a key and released us from our prison.
We were so happy to get back into fresh air again..
We still enjoyed the days when Mom would say, lets go to the loft children. We would select some things to take into the house. We enjoyed the introduction of using a microscope and marvelled at the way our hair looks and exclaimed over what was revealed when you looked at a drop of water. But we were never tempted to go to the loft without Mom.
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There's almost NOTHING like the joy of a boxful of books from an OLD library. I can smell it right now. Great story and memories. :)
ReplyDeleteThat must have been so scary! I hate feeling trapped.
ReplyDeleteI love old books. I have a few at my house that I have collected if even just for the beautiful cover.
I was thinking about your blog today and didn't remember reading anything for a couple days and looked and it had disappeared from my "Favorites" on my computer! Uh, I don't THINK so! Don't worry, it's back safe and sound and now I can regularly come back for an update.
ReplyDeleteAbout your road trip, I don't know where you live, but I live in St. Louis and you passed through here going to Pennsylvania and you did all that in four days!?? You're my new hero! We drove with our kids to the Grand Canyon a few years back and you sure have to get creative on road trips, but there are good memories so it was worth it. Four days?? Wow.
Being trapped in your barn - eeeek, I'm getting anxiety thinking about it! Are you sure your mom didn't hear you?? HA HA Totally kidding! Your blog is a total joy to me, just so you know ~
Thank you for stopping by an becoming a follower..
ReplyDeleteI look forward to getting to know you.
Good Luck on the Giveaway!
Hugs,
Debbie
Thanks for sharing your story. I had a similar incident happen to me except I was painting in the bathroom of a home that we were remodeling. My husband came in to tell me he was leaving and shut the door behind him. As I went to reopen the door the knob came off in my hand. No problem just push it back in...but the other side fell off and hit the floor. I am claustrophobic and panicked but once I calmed down I was able to use a little gadget that I had used to open the can of paint to open the door. This incident only happened a few years ago and I still remember being afraid.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Elizabeth
Oh I love old books! That part of the story sounds fun. :) Glad you got out OK.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic thing for children to explore. I love books. I always go to them at thrift shops, garage sales, and don't get me started on bookstores. I do however love old books the best. The worn, hardback,and colorful bindings get me every time. I've been known to collect them just for the way they look.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad the bugs scared you off from the loft, you probably could have had a lot more discoveries to make there. Thank goodness Mom came to the rescue. Isn't it wonderful when they do that, the feeling of sweet relief that you get! Moms are the best! I'm sure your little ones feel the same about you!
Have a beautiful day all the way back there is the east!
Thank you for stopping by my blog, and for the comment!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this story. :) All the boxes of school supplies sound fascinating! Except the part where you got locked in the loft....yikes!