Curiouser and Curiouser

H-1: And the Moral of That Is

The Duchess does seem to find a lot of morals in things, so tell us a non-fictional event that left you with a most important moral you’ll never forget. (<1000 words)

I've moved around a lot in my life. There are six of us kids. I'm the oldest. Each of us was born in a different state.

I think the most difficult move was actually in third grade. We moved from Connecticut and thought we would end up out west (where most of Dad's family lives). I started third grade in Connecticut and went for about two weeks at which point, we moved to Arizona until Halloween, living on my grandparent's floor (there were four of us at the time, me, two sisters and a brother, and Mama was pregnant with the next sister) while Dad looked for a job.

He finally found one, and showed up one night (the vague memory of being carried to bed) ready to cart us all back to upstate New York.

It took a while to figure out where we would live. In the mean time, we were in temporary housing until Christmas. I have memories of eight-year-old me telling stories to my brother so he would fall asleep so that Santa would come. I was sleeping on the couch next to the Christmas tree, so I had the best opportunity to see him. Ah well.

But, we're looking for a moral here. The first thing we looked for at grandma's house and at the temporary house and at our new home was the nearest public library. Sure, the configuration was different, but the books were similar and I could take old friends home to read. My motto, that move, was “where's the library?”

We've moved since then. Before eighth grade, we moved across the state to Syracuse, New York, and found a library there. At the end of that school year we moved to Maryland (my youngest sister was born there, while I was in 10th grade). I still remember the turns we had to take to get to the library. From there I went to college (where the library was just down the street from my flat). I spend some time in England, and came home to Tennessee.

And when I got home, I found the library again.

Moral: If you want to feel home, find a library.

word count: 365