Sunday Reflections: Tween Conversations

Fade In: Me, at reference desk on Valentines Day, working.  Tween Boy, 12 years old, sitting next to me.

Tween:  Miss, so you and Mr. That Guy don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Me:  Yep.
Tween: Why not?
Me: Just cause.
Tween: But you like each other, right? Cuz he brings you dinner, and you hold hands and stuff.
Me: Yep.
Tween: So you didn’t get him nothing and he didn’t get you nothing.
Me: Nope.
Tween: But you made us Valentines.

Me: Yep, because you guys celebrate Valentines.
Tween: Oh.
(pause)

Tween: So what else don’t you and Mr. That Guy don’t celebrate?
Me: Hanukkah. Ramadan. Kwanzaa.  Chinese New Years.
Tween: WAIT. You don’t celebrate THOSE?  WHY NOT?
Me: Hanukkah is for those who are Jewish and we’re not. Ramadan is for those who are Muslim and we’re not. Kwanzaa is for those who are primarily African-American and while I like the principals I don’t celebrate it.  We’re not Chinese.
Tween: BUT we celebrate all those in the LIBRARY!!!!!
Me: Yep.
Tween: BUT WHY? If you don’t celebrate those, why do we have them?
Me: We celebrate them because everyone who walks in the library is different, and special, and has their own beliefs.  They celebrate different things, and I can’t celebrate one thing and not the other, so we celebrate everything.

Tween: Huh.
Me: Just like we celebrate Cinco de Mayo and dieciseis de septiembre at the library even though I’m not Hispanic.
Tween: Wait, you’re an Honorary Mexican, Diego said so.
Me: Yes, but if we only celebrated my actual heritage, we’d do Irish, Scottish, German, English, and Jedi.
Tween: Wait, you’re a JEDI?!?!?
Me: Yes, that’s how I know what they’re doing in the corner. STOP RUNNING AND SIT DOWN.
Tween:  WHOA.  I love this library, Miss.  It’s awesome. Do other libraries celebrate everything?
Me: Yes, because libraries welcome everyone.
Tween:  Libraries are awesome.

True story. No embellishment. If you doubt me, ask That Guy or Karen.  They have been at my library and have met my kids.

Filed under: holidays, love your library, Sunday Reflections, tween conversations