How a Cheapskate Stays Stress-Free
Books - new or used? I vote for used - preferably paperbacks.
I've always loved to read and have done a lot of it through the
years. I've had a library card since I was six-years old. I love
going to the library and browsing through the shelves. The
problem is, now that I have grand-kids visiting, they want to
feel and touch everything. Sticky fingers leave marks on my
borrowed books and libraries don't like that. And forget about
wiping their hands first, they're too fast! Kids can shoot in,
fall into my lap (and book) and shoot back out quicker than I
can blink now-a-days.
Kids like to write, have you noticed? Give them a fat crayon and
a coloring book, and watch them go - straight to the wall or the
bookshelf. Quick, bring them back to the coloring book. To show
them what to do, you color a bit, ("See? Like this.") and a bit
more. Did you forget how much fun it was? When you look up, the
little angel has your borrowed library book splayed out on the
floor with a crayon in her chubby fingers and a big smile on her
sweet face.
So, I use a couple of bookshops who specialize in used
paperbacks. I can buy them cheap, then trade them back for more
- two for one. If a few get torn or drenched in red cool-aid,
it's no problem for anyone. I keep them on a small bookshelf,
and if little hands happen to tear a page, I don't stress over
it.
Allowing my kids and grand-kids to handle my books freely has
given me some wonderful surprise memories. I was going through a
box just the other day and found a torn out single page with my
son's name carefully written in his five-year old hand along the
top margin. It's thirty-five years old, and it was a wonderful
gift from the past. Priceless!
I'm a big believer in reducing as much stress in life as
possible. Not much can be done about it out in the real world;
but home is my territory and I try to keep it stress-free for
everyone. We all need a sanctuary - even, or perhaps especially,
children. So, I keep used paperbacks around the house and good
books up high. Remove the stress and enjoy daily life by being a
cheapskate. I do.