The Magic Closet

            I am feeling a bit nostalgic tonight.  My ten-year-old daughter lay on the floor reading the book she checked out this afternoon at the county library.  The scene transported me back to a different time and place when I was ten.

            The year was 1978.  My favorite part of the summer was spending every other week on my uncle’s little farm off Highway 57.  My father worked for the company in town.  Instead of “commuting” every night back to our hometown 56 miles north, he stayed in the cabin next to his brother’s house.  I cooked dinners for him during my weeks at the cabin and cleaned.  I spent my free time tagging along behind my older cousins going to movies, horseback riding, doing chores, and going to the bar for soda pop.  I really think no kid on Earth had better summers then I.

            In the house resided a magic closet.  Walking down the hallway, I would pass the bathroom, Worth’s room and Crystal’s room.  Family photos lined the walls.  Shag carpet silenced my footsteps.  At the end of the hall stood three doors.  To the right, the door opened to my aunt and uncle’s room.  I loved going into the room to the left.  Cath and Carol, whom I idolized, shared this room.  The bright deep purple walls helped shape my love for color I am sure.

            Stepping across the threshold of the middle door transported me into a magical world.  Now this compares to the magic tree house, but alas it doesn’t compare to the amour in the Narnia series, but for a small town Montana girl, I felt I found heaven.

            Walking into the closed, I turned on the overhead light.  All three walls held numerous shelves from the floor to the ceiling all lined with books.  I spent hours perusing the titles.  Many times my cousins suggested books like The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  I read for hours.

            Today books clutter my house.  I have sold books, given them away, and stored them in the shed and garage.  A couple of years ago my husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas.  I love that I am not storing more books; plus, I can take hundreds of books with me weighing less then a pound.

            Yet, I am saddened.  Will magic closets exist in the future?  I believe when my daughter leaves home, I will turn one of the extra bedrooms into a magic room.  I want my grandchildren to have such an experience.  Of course, hopefully they love to read.