Am I the strange one?

"You're so weird."

It is one of Erin's favorite remarks these days, but could she be right?  Oh, no.  That would be ridiculous.

But, when she used it the last time, it made me think.

The two of us were walking home after ballet.  We were having a debate over which book I was reading when we took our vacation to Tupper Lake back in 2006.  I was convinced it was Harry Potter, but Erin knew it was Twilight.  She was thinking about that vacation and had remembered our canoe trip, where I made her read the book to me as I paddled.

As we were walking into the apartment building I said, "I really want to read Twilight again."

That's when she said, "you're so weird."

"Why?  Because I want to read Twilight for a second time?  I really want to read them again because now that I know how it ends, I want to start from the beginning and read them more thoroughly."

"No.  Because you read soooooo much.  That's weird."

Erin's right, I do read a lot.  Since we have lived in this apartment I have read three books.  I have had a lot of time on my hands, but I have read three books nonetheless.

The first thing I thought to myself was, I'm not that weird, my mom reads a lot too.  Well, as we have already established, I am exactly like my mother, so that probably isn't the best gauge of weirdness.

Three books in two weeks is a lot, even for me, but I love it.  I have a Kindle and the Kindle app on my telephone (this is one of the times when I adore technology!).  I have also read a paperback that I brought to the city with me.  After I pick Erin up from ballet I stand waiting for the train, reading my book.  I read it while we are on the train.  I read it on the couch.  I read before I go to sleep.  And plenty of times I read while I eat breakfast.  Is that strange?

Erin happens to strongly dislike reading, so her opinion is a bit biased, but am I the strange one?

Do you like reading?  Or am I one of the few weird ones left that enjoys reading books?

And another one gets crossed off the list!

I get to cross another one off The List!  On our first day in the city I told Erin I had a little surprise for her.  I think I got her hopes up by saying that, but I was really counting on her to like it more than she actually did.

Okay, we went to the New York Public Library!

I have walked past it at least fifty times, but I had never been inside.  And better yet, I didn’t have a library card.  And now, now, I do.  

Before we left for the city my mom reminded me of how excited Erin was to get her first library card in Saratoga.  It was one of my mom’s little tricks to make the move to Saratoga sound exciting.  More and more of these tricks are surfacing as I age...

While I knew I didn’t need to coax Erin to be excited for the move to the city, I thought she would enjoy it!  Honestly, I did.  

When she figured out what I had up my sleeve on the subway, let’s just say she was less than thrilled.  Then, when we looked like tourists, and not locals, while in search of the library card station, I thought she was going to lose it.  And to top it all off, I made her take photos to document the experience.  And of course, my camera accidentally flashed in the reading room.  Mortifying.  

She's really good at pretending to look happy.

Here I am, in NYC, acting just like my mother, and completely embarrassing my 15- year- old sister.  But, I checked another one off The List!  Erin is now reading a book, has visited three different branches, and she is proudly displaying her NYPL card on her keychain.  I’m pleased with my surprise, and I think Erin is too, even though she will never admit it.