Nose in a book

I'm a nerd. There, I said it. I've always had my nose in a book, devouring everything I could get my hands on to read. My favorite place in the mall is always the bookstore. I was elated when I realized Books*A*Million had teamed up with Joe Muggs to create bibliophile nirvana by offering up a cup 'o' joe and a comfy chair to those of us who love to curl up with an armful of books before whittling the pile down to the one or two we'll actually purchase.

This time of year, though...the end of summer...brings an incredible feast of the senses to folks like me. When we began homeschooling ten years ago, I learned very quickly that Christmas had a rival. There is nothing quite like opening a huge box of brand-new BOOKS! The beginning of the school year has always been a wonderfully exciting time for me, but mainly because I loved the smell and "feel" of new books and school supplies. Odd, yes, I know. Like I said, I'm a nerd. To me, there is something akin to the smell of a new baby's skin in never-opened books and brand-new Crayola boxes. It brings with it the prospect of a new start; the beginning of a grand adventure. Some people like to watch flowers bloom; I like to sniff books.


"Box Day" this year was amazing. The day that 46-pound box from Sonlight arrived...I couldn't even wait till after dinner, I HAD to open it. Thumbing through the books and savoring the sound of being the first one to open each one's pages just could not wait another minute! I had cleared off space on our shelves days earlier for our newest paper residents.


Ahhhhh, that "new book" smell...I love it!

This school year brings with it a not-so-new but much-missed return to preschool supplies as Morgan all but insisted on being included with the academic pursuits of her older siblings. So next to the mechanical pencils, graphing calculators, and stacks of college ruled paper sit the standard school box full of Crayolas, thick "trainer" pencils, safety scissors, and glue sticks. It also seems as if I've finally borne another nerd like me, as Morgan is as fiercely protective of HER "school books" as I am. She guards her little stack of workbooks and their rightful place next to algebra and grammar texts like uncovered treasure.

I have trained her well!