I truly want to know if anything like the story I'm about to share happens to other people.
One recent morning I was rushing to get Darby to preschool story time at the library. We arrived and I found a parking spot and ran in through the side door.
Now, we had to go in said side door because story time starts 30 minutes before the library opens and the big main entrance is locked.
Once inside I saw another mom pushing some books through a return slot at the main desk, and I thought I would be a copy cat and do the same thing instead of lugging my returns up to story time.
After shoving in a few regular books, I thought to myself,
"Hmm, wouldn't I be such a good library patron if I put these audio books in the actual audio return slot, where they are supposed to go? Yes, yes I would."
So I turned around, opened the door to the vestibule area of sorts, between the library and the main outside door, because that's where the audio slot is, and immediately a loud alarm started ringing.
Not thinking that this door would be alarmed, and at least not triggered by opening it from the inside, I had no idea what was happening for several moments and actually attempted to shove the dang audio books into the audio slot where they would not for all the world even fit, and then, because a loud alarm was wailing and we were already late for story time, threw the audio books on the desk after all, grabbed Darby's hand and hurried upstairs.
But not before a young library employee came bustling around the corner and saw us.
Over two hours passed and I forgot about my mistake downstairs. After some stories, crafts and play time, Darby and I meandered down together. As we neared the bottom there was an odd noise and a slow feeling of dread started creeping in on me.
"Is that--? What the--?" I wondered to myself.
Rounding a corner I heard what every person on the first floor of the library had been subject to all morning: a loud, wailing alarm.
And then I saw the bustling library employee ... and a few of his co-workers. They were standing near the main door with an electrician who it seemed had cut some sort of hole in the wall and was trying unsuccessfully to make the noise stop.
They looked at me. I looked at them. And because the side entrance I had used is really some sort of employee entrance only accessible before the library opens, I had no choice but to walk past them and through the stupid alarm door.
I lowered my head in shame and mumbled an apology of sorts as I rushed out feeling like the biggest moron in the world.
Does this sort of thing happen to anyone else? Seriously.
