Strengths & Weaknesses

I ran about 10 minutes after I taught myself to walk, I have been able to jump for for-ev-er, and I am oh-so-verbal. I can do a somersault, identify a bunch of different types of dinosaurs, and count to 10 (well. only if you're not so picky about "5"). I sleep in a Big Boy bed, can climb up rope ladders, and make friends easily.

Dude. I can drive a tractor.

There are a LOT of things I am good at.

Sitting still and quietly listening to a story? Not so much.

I *love* books. I come by it naturally; Mommy used to smuggle books to summer camp, and got into trouble for reading rather than running around at recess - she worked at a library in high school, and Grandma still does! And Daddy? He's an English teacher! We have a ton of books in our house, and I had a fully stocked children's lit library before I was born. One of my favorite things to do is sit with someone to look over my favorite books, and I tend to read to myself in bed if I wake up when Mommy says it's still sleepy time.

In my Big Boy Bed with a few of my favorite things: Mickey tucked in, Elmo & Sugarplum (in a rare hatless moment - don't worry, I'm clutching her hat in my hand for morning), and 3 or 4 board books.

Mommy and I have been hitting the story time circuit for a l-o-n-g time now - most of time we go to Tales & Tunes for Tiny Tots at our local library, but the crowd in there has gotten a little younger, and the "tunes" are getting kind of stale. Tales & Tunes is geared towards "walkers to 36 months," but it seems like most of the other kids in there are on the younger end of that spectrum, so Mommy thought it might be time to move to the next age level.

Unfortunately, at the ripe old age of 2, I seem to have hit my awkward years already! Most of the local programming is geared towards infants or for kids 3 and up. Sigh. Family Storytime, for ages 2 to 5, seemed like it would be the answer - "Stories, songs, puppets, and more!" Unfortunately, *most* of the kids in there seem to be a little older than me. They sit quietly in their mom's laps, while I? don't.

I want to clarify that I don't mean I spend the whole time running around screaming. I am simply... enthusiastic. I don't want to sit placidly in Mommy's lap - I want to sit *right* in front, at the feet of the librarian. I don't want to wait for the librarian to read ALL the words - I want to point out the pictures, or make pithy comments about the plot. ("Oh no! No eat a bug! YUCK!")

Apparently, they want to stifle all of the individuality out of a kid, because twice in 2 weeks, Mommy has removed me from storytime - probably right before we were asked to leave. No wonder so many upper level scholars can't write a comprehensive literary criticism - who is fostering their critical thinking?! Mommy usually just takes me to the other room of the children's section, where she tries to make me feel better by telling me I can pick out a book and read with her, but I am generally heartbroken. "Storytime!"

So, we are still looking for a story hour that's a good fit for me - and in the meantime, Mommy says I will have to work on my ability to sit still and be a quiet listener. Apparently this skill will come in handy in nursery school next year... So we will be at Family Storytime again next week, and will hope to last longer than a few pages.