On Fridays our son Theo has karate class. He usually gets picked up and driven there but today he called me complaining that because of a heat advisory all the kids were in the library and it was too noisy for him to read while he waited for pick up. Because I am over the moon that my child has discovered the joys of reading, I appreciated his argument and agreed to pick him up. Thinking I might also see his friend Cortez in the library, I grabbed a cute plastic ring I’d decided to give away and headed off to school.

When I arrived at the library I was shocked by the chaos and noise. Some kids were lying on the floor playing games while others were tripping over each other as they rushed from one table to another carrying books, sheets of paper and pencils.  Having to keep kids inside because of the heat is miserable for the kids and for the adults who manage them. I found Theo at the back of the library trying to squeeze his whole body into one of the empty bookshelves. “Look, I’m a book,” he joked. I laughed and told him he was in the wrong place alphabetically. He was in the “C” section, and he’s a “T.” He laughed back and rolled out onto the floor. Saying goodbye to his friends, we wove our way through the tangle of kids. Just as we were about to exit the library, Cortez popped out from behind the shelf. “Happy Birthday!” I smiled, handing her the ring. She beamed and thanked me sweetly, sliding the ring onto her pointer finger. I asked her if she had plans to celebrate her birthday, and she told me that she’d be going with her parents to the local Mongolian barbecue restaurant. I thought to myself what a lovely age 10 is – the kids are still adorable but are so articulate now that they are really fun to talk to. Theo and I chatted as we made our way home, and I quietly thanked the heat of the day for helping make today’s Giveaway so smooth and sweet.