Editor’s Note: Things I Miss in the Pandemic

By Sharon Verbeten

In a year when 20/20 was supposed to mean clear vision, everything has been discombobulated! Here’s a list of things I miss most in 2020—how about you?

• Storytimes! (and the occasional, parent-approved hugs from kids I know well).
• Chatting up parents and slipping in those subtle—or not so subtle!—ECRR2 tips.
• Lingering in the library. The library has always been my favorite “third place,” as it is for many others. It’s hard to see libraries turn into “grab-and-go” venues.
• The humble craft project…or even the 159th coloring sheet I’ve printed.
• Finding a random train car wedged between board books on the shelf.
• Summer reading program school visits (even the occasional heckler).
• Hand stamps (especially those that quickly end up smudged on cheeks).
• High fives!
• Creating inviting shelf and wall displays—that patrons will actually see.
• Three-year-old Kempton, singly loudly off key, to Jim Gill’s “Alabama, Mississippi.”
• The boisterous, sugar-hopped afterschool kids waiting for rides. To be honest, we often hoped for a respite from the nonstop craziness, but now after more than five months without them, we not-so-secretly wouldn’t mind having them back.
• A storytime lingerer waving goodbye, saying, with a tiny lisp, “Bye, bye Mith Tharon!”

I miss you all, too! &