Overdue

In the days before the library emailed me with “advanced notice my book were due,” I have to admit I wasn’t too great about turning them in on time. In high school, I actually was summoned because of an overdue fine, that thankfully was resolved after I called and informed them I had turned the book in before it was due, and once they looked they found it and said it just hadn’t been checked in right.

And a few years ago, I had a hold on my account because I had reached the limit of overdue fines (something like $20). The problem was not only did I lose track of which books were due when, but I had so many checked out at a time, that by the time I realized they were overdue, the fines really stacked up.

But now that I get email reminders, I’ve been very successful, and only had a 35-cent fine. This 35-cent fine sat unpaid on my account for probably a year, because I use the self-checkout machine and don’t think it’s necessary to put a 35-cent charge on my debit card. That fine thankfully went away this year when Nathan picked up a book for me and paid the 35 cents promptly. The difference in our personalities is clear here.

I knew that I had four books due Friday, thanks to my email, and several days ago I gathered them up to return on one of my many trips past the library near our house. But did I return them? No. By the time I was home and had realized this, I was too settled (and waiting on the furnace guy to come) to leave the house on a cold blustery day. But the books needed to be returned, so Nathan and I walked Shelby down to the library to return them.

Shelby loves the walk to the library, and last time we were there I realized she had learned the routine. We cross in the same spot, walk over to the book return thingy, she waits while I empty the bag, then she leads the way back home, prancing the whole way. The leaves covered the sidewalks and Nathan and I held hands once the book bag was empty and talked about the day.

I’m probably going to have some overdue fines, because the library closed at 6:00 and I’m not sure my books will be checked in on time. But I’ll accept paying the $1.40 because it gave us that random, tiny moment, no matter how small it seemed in the grand scheme of our life, together on a fall night.