Eclectic Echoes

A few years ago, Johann and I started going to the new storytime at the local independent bookstore so that Johann would have the experience of attending storytime and we could possibly kindle some friendships and find playmates. A special friendship did come from this, but not one we expected.

Miss Suzanne was the organizer and storyteller. She is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She really took to Johann and I think she might have cancelled the storytime program for lack of interest, had it not been for our faithful attendance. With her educational background and creativity, she was very good at choosing books and related activities Johann would love and learn from. At one point the bookstore was a nominee for the best national independent bookstore of the year. I was one of the mothers asked to write a letter about our storytime experience, which they wanted to put into the portfolio being submitted for the judging. Because one of the books Miss Suzanne chose, The Great Fuzz Frenzy, inspired Johann’s Halloween costume one year, I included a picture of Johann in costume with my letter.

I wrote about how much storytime meant to us and how wonderful a job Miss Suzanne did with the children. I said that storytime had helped Johann on his path to literacy and seeing how she interacted with the children made me wish she had been an influence in my own early education. Miss Suzanne called me personally to thank me for “the beautiful letter”. She made her own copy before it went into the portfolio. She also passed it around to the entire staff to read, who all beamed at me and thanked me for writing the letter the next time I was in the store. I was a little embarrassed by the attention, but I was glad it meant a lot to Miss Suzanne and I hoped it would help the bookstore win the award.

Not soon afterward the bookstore owner announced he was selling the store. His wife had gotten the job offer of a lifetime and they were moving to California. In the end, the new owners kept the staff, but Miss Suzanne decided it was time to move on. Johann was so upset Miss Suzanne was leaving he vowed never to go into the bookstore again. I told her about it and how Eric and I were encouraging him to give it a try before he decided he wouldn’t go to the new storytime. If he didn’t like it after trying it, then we would stop going. She told me the hardest part of her decision was giving up storytime and “her Johann”. Before she left she made sure the new people would continue storytime for him. She even introduced him to the new lady who would be reading the books and helped him through the transition.

I was pleasantly surprised when Miss Suzanne told Johann that we could meet with her at the coffee shop and offered to lend us some books from her own library, since it was evident that Johann was still upset at the prospect of never seeing Miss Suzanne again. She obviously felt the same way. So we exchanged phone numbers before saying good-bye.

On the day I planned to call her to set up our first meeting time, she beat me to it. She said she was calling us on the first day of her new life and we were number one on her list of people to call. We set up the first meeting to be on a Thursday, just like our old storytime used to be. We’ve met with her three times now. The last time we met we were so involved in our conversation we completely lost track of the time. It didn’t seem like it, but we talked with Miss Suzanne for two hours! Johann brings things to show her and she brings more books to lend to him. She lets me know about museum exhibitions or other events that Johann might like that I didn’t know about. And she and I have gotten to socialize and learn a little about each other. Johann and I still go to storytime, but I think he looks forward to our meetings with Miss Suzanne more. We may not always be able to meet on a Thursday, but I hope we will be able to keep in touch with Miss Suzanne for a long, long time.