lessons learned

The other day we were reading one of Annabelle's favorite library books--Spot Goes to School. It is really a baby book, but she picked it out and likes to read it, and apparently do other things to it, because as I was reading it, I noticed there was a little bit scribble scrabble on it that wasn't there the day before.

"Who did this?" I asked.

She looked thoughtful for a second and whispered "Ann-belle"

I explained to her that you were never supposed to scribble on books, especially library books and that she would need to tell the librarian what she did the next time we went to the library.

"Tell librarian. Say--I sorry I write in this Spot book." she said.

"Yes, that's right. You will need to apologize."

So throughout the week from time to time, she would say something like "I write in Spot book. I tell librarian, I sorry I write in Spot book. Librarian say, that's okay, accidents happen." Periodically, when we would see someone, she would confess, "I write in Spot book" and push her little lips out and make her serious face, the kind of face she makes when she tells on someone for doing something wrong, like when she told me "Grandma drives too fast."

Anyway, Friday came , and our plan was to go to the library, turn in some books, check out some books and then go to Chik-fil-a and have super-delux fun on the playground while mama relaxed and drank her sweet tea.

Right before we went in, she made her little speech to herself and as always it ended with the librarian telling her, "that's okay. Accidents happen." She was full of confidence as she trotted into the library.

But then something happened as I held her up to the counter, got the librarian's attention and showed him the offending page. "Tell him what happened, Annabelle. Tell him what you did." She turn her head away from him and held her head down in what could only be described as abject shame. I prompted her a few more times and she craned her head as far away as she possibly could. The librarian was touched. He looked kind of like how I felt, like he wasn't sure if he was going to laugh or cry.

I was feeling bad for being so old school about something, and then the librarian said "I am going to have to charge you for it." Do whhaaattt???? Eleven dollars later, five of which was a processing fee, I was contemplating whether I should be truly old school and say that we would have to go home and eat peanut butter sandwiches, because I spent all of our Chik-fil-a money on the Spot book. But I saw no reason to punish myself as well.

Lessons learned
1. Annabelle learned not to write in books
2. I learned that honestly is not always the best policy at the Houston Public Library.