We are used to hearing about Story Hour at the library for the little kidlings, but here in my town we have Senior Hour at the library once a month.
As always, there is more to the background and I want to share it with you. The Director of the library has recently retired, not as in getting older and wanting to stop working, but as in a young mother of several children and married to a farmer and is needed at home. She is awesome, as a librarian as well as a member of the community.
One day at a book sale at the library, she and I were the last ones there. Sorting leftover books and talking as we worked. She asked if many of the people at the senior center utilize the library and I said I didn't think so, and then we talked seriously for about an hour and came up with some ideas and themes that would be of interest to the the seniors. A new program was born.
She made flyers and put the news in the local paper that the library would be open for seniors only on the third Wednesday each month. We had discussed times, so it would be possible for the slower moving seniors to attend the library discussions and get to the senior center in plenty of time for lunch.
Each month we look forward to seeing what we will be doing. One time we played a Nebraska Trivia game. Of course I didn't know any of the answers. But it was fun learning about the sports teams and the different towns. This month we were handed a quiz on the origin of Halloween, which we worked on and then discussed as a group. That was fun. Then we were trouped into the computer room and each put at a computer and taught where to find medical and pharmaceutical information for seniors online. As we were heading out the door, we were each given a Halloween cupcake holder full of nuts and corn candy. What fun.
The good news is that the woman who was the director likes working with us seniors as much as we like being with her, so she volunteers her time and comes in to town for our monthly get togethers. She is prepared every time and has some little treat for us. One time she passed out coupons for free ice cream cones at the local Dairy Mart.
It is sometimes the small things in life that, when put together, are what sustains and nurtures a community. I am so blessed to be learning this first hand.
10 comments:
Good job, Cici!
this is awesome on so many levels....a chance to get together....and also you never know what you will get...i like the randomness of it..ha
Yes, you are indeed blessed. And those who are in your sphere of influence are blessed, too. This is a great idea, these Senior Days at the library! :-)
Congratulations! That is really inspiring to see people volunteering and contributing to making life fun for others.
Great uplifting post. It sounds like you live in a wonderful community.
What a great idea, I LOVE it!
I certainly like this community idea. Good work.
That is a very impressive and inspirational piece of reportage. These are the types of articles that should be in local newspapers!
This is a great story. I like how open you were to the program when you didn't know the answers; not all seniors are like that, for sure! :)
You have found the good in your community and counted your blessings from the time you first arrived. I've learned a lot from you about finding the simple pleasures simply by being open to the people and things around you.
Senior hour at the library is a great idea. I was just thinking how long it's been since I've been to my public library. Time for me to go back. I used to enjoy it so much.
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