0:01

Welcome to Bedtime

0:03

Stories for Everyone,

0:07

in which nothing

0:10

much happens, you

0:12

feel good, and then

0:15

you fall asleep. I'm

0:19

Catherine Nikolay. I

0:21

write and read all the stories

0:24

you hear on Nothing Much

0:26

Happens. Audio

0:29

Engineering is by Bob Witttersheim.

0:34

We give to a different charity

0:36

each week, and

0:38

this week we are giving to reach

0:41

Out and read who

0:44

believe all families should

0:46

have the tools and information they

0:48

need to make reading aloud

0:51

a daily routine.

0:54

You can learn more about them in

0:56

our show notes. Thank

0:59

you for trusting me to

1:02

tuck you in at night. Our

1:05

mission is to give you a safe place

1:08

to land after whatever

1:10

kind of day you've had. Our

1:14

stories are family friendly and

1:17

conflict free,

1:20

and if you'd like to hear more, we

1:22

have over thirty five bonus

1:24

episodes as well

1:27

as extra long episodes

1:29

on our premium plus feed. Subscribing

1:34

gives you ad free episodes

1:37

and really supports us.

1:40

You can find a link to subscribe

1:43

in our show notes, as well

1:45

as our other shows First

1:47

This and Stories from

1:49

the Village of Nothing Much, and

1:53

our Sleep subscription box, which

1:56

is chock full a full

1:59

sized product handpicked

2:01

by me to

2:03

help you relax and sleep.

2:08

Now let's start

2:10

to walk that path to

2:13

deep breast. Just

2:16

by listening to the story, you'll

2:19

occupy your mind just

2:21

enough to keep it from wandering, and

2:25

that is when sleep becomes natural

2:28

and easy. I'll

2:31

tell the story twice

2:34

and I'll go a little slower the

2:36

second time through. If

2:40

you awake again in the night, think

2:43

through any part of the story

2:46

that you can remember, or

2:49

just turn an episode right back

2:52

on. And

2:54

if you're new to this, have

2:57

some patience. This is brain

2:59

training and it

3:01

takes some time. Our

3:04

story tonight is

3:07

called Summer at the Library, and

3:10

it's a story about some

3:13

special programming for

3:16

some of the younger and

3:18

four legged residents of the village.

3:21

It's also about the view from the circulation

3:24

desk, water bowls

3:26

set out on the shady patio,

3:30

study rooms, and walking

3:32

trails and learning

3:35

to feel happiness moment

3:38

to moment. Now

3:46

lights out, it's

3:48

time set

3:50

aside anything you've been looking at

3:53

or working on, snuggle

3:57

down into your sheets, and

4:00

get the right pillow in the right

4:02

spot. Whatever

4:05

you got done today, it

4:08

was enough and

4:10

there's nothing to keep track of. You

4:14

can let go

4:18

draw a deep breath in through

4:20

your nose and

4:25

sigh from your mouth nice

4:33

one more in and

4:37

out good

4:46

summer by the library.

4:52

The library opened at

4:54

nine am, but

4:57

by quarter to eight already

5:01

a good sized crowd outside.

5:07

From inside, at the circulation

5:09

desk, as I scanned

5:11

books and organized

5:14

the flyers and bookmarks

5:17

lining the top, I

5:21

could see groups of parents and

5:23

kids, folks

5:27

with their books and computer bags

5:32

ready to study or

5:34

get back to work on their novels,

5:38

and others who were eager for

5:41

their next great read. The

5:46

library had just gone

5:48

through a renovation. We

5:53

were housed in an old brick

5:56

building on the edge of

5:58

the park, a

6:01

few blocks from the center of downtown,

6:07

and though we'd always done our best

6:10

to serve as many people as we

6:12

could, we'd

6:14

been limited. Our

6:17

one meeting room was small, our

6:22

stacks were crowded, and

6:25

we'd often had to turn down speakers

6:28

and events for lack

6:30

of accommodation. When

6:34

the land beside and behind

6:36

our building had

6:38

been donated to us, we

6:42

leapt at the opportunity to expand.

6:47

We added a new wing full

6:51

of open space and

6:53

large windows. We

6:56

had meeting rooms plural

6:58

now, some

7:00

small for study groups and

7:03

two larger ones for lectures

7:06

and community meetings. There

7:11

were gardens on

7:13

a small patio where

7:15

patrons could sit outside in

7:18

nice weather, even

7:21

walking paths and the acres

7:24

behind the building, And

7:27

since then we'd

7:29

become a favorite location for

7:32

school trips. If

7:36

it sounds like I'm bragging, it's

7:39

because I am. Nothing

7:44

makes a librarian happier

7:47

than seeing young faces discovering

7:51

the joys of a library.

7:56

Our collection had grown along

7:59

with the space. We

8:02

had new cabinets

8:04

for history exhibits.

8:08

We'd just taken down a collection

8:10

of gowns and shoes, fancy

8:13

hats and brooches from the Gilded

8:16

Age,

8:19

and we were currently installing

8:21

a collection of fossils found

8:24

on a farm out beyond

8:27

the apple orchards.

8:31

We had expanded collections

8:34

of fiction and memoirs,

8:39

children's books and media.

8:43

We lent out appliances and

8:45

musical instruments,

8:49

garden tools, and

8:52

today we were lending something

8:54

even more special. We'd

8:59

partnered up with a pet rescue,

9:03

and those eager kids

9:06

and parents outside the front door

9:08

were coming to check out dogs

9:11

for a walk and

9:13

some story time. As

9:18

the clock ticked over to nine am,

9:21

one of the other librarians walked

9:24

past me with

9:26

a broad smile on his face. We

9:30

chuckled together we

9:32

were all looking forward to

9:34

today. He

9:37

went to the door, and as

9:39

he unlocked it and

9:42

stood back to let our patrons in,

9:46

I saw a van with

9:49

a happy logo across its

9:51

panels of

9:53

a wagging tail pull

9:55

into the parking lot

10:00

across the hood. In

10:02

big letters, it said,

10:05

the animals bringing

10:07

your next furry friend to

10:10

you. I

10:13

chuckled to myself as

10:16

I stepped out from behind the desk

10:19

and made my way through our patrons

10:23

an out of a lot.

10:29

For I even got close, I

10:32

could hear the excited barking

10:35

and see a few pairs of eyes

10:38

peeking through the windows.

10:42

The van was a refitted

10:45

short school bus, and

10:48

when the door folded back and

10:51

I was invited to climb aboard,

10:55

I smiled at the rows of special

10:58

seats and

11:00

the pups buckled into their harnesses.

11:05

There were about a dozen

11:08

dogs, some bigger

11:11

a collie, a chocolate lab, a

11:14

pity, and a

11:16

very shaggy mix with gray

11:18

and white spots. Then

11:22

some middle sized pooches,

11:26

some kind of hound dog, a

11:29

Dalmatian, a cocker

11:31

spaniel, a

11:33

couple that I couldn't

11:35

descry other than they

11:38

were very cute,

11:41

and in the front row the smallest

11:44

dogs small enough

11:46

to share two to a seat were

11:50

two red haired Doxens, a

11:53

Yorky, and

11:55

something that, as far

11:58

as I could tell, was

12:00

an actual teddy bear pretending

12:02

to be a dog. I

12:06

was filled with a giddy joy. As

12:10

a dog lover and pet

12:12

parent, I

12:16

got to see my own kitty and

12:18

dog every day, and

12:21

I regularly admired the

12:24

pups we saw on

12:26

our walks. But

12:30

it had been a long time since

12:33

I had been so completely

12:36

surrounded by

12:38

canine excitement. And

12:41

it felt like Christmas morning, like

12:46

a ticker tape parade,

12:49

like the first day of summer vacation.

12:55

The dogs seemed to share that feeling.

12:59

Their tale thumped against their

13:01

seats as they strained

13:04

toward me. I'd

13:08

done a short training with the shelter

13:12

to be able to help today, and

13:17

I remembered that I was

13:19

supposed to be helping to

13:21

get the pups off the bus,

13:25

not just petting them while

13:28

grinning like a goon. I

13:32

shrugged an apology to

13:35

the driver, and he

13:37

assured me it happened

13:40

a lot. Dogs

13:43

make us present, he said, sometimes

13:47

we forget everything else.

13:51

Boy, that was true.

13:55

It was something my yoga teacher

13:58

frequently said, and we were

14:00

stretching into downward facing

14:03

dog. She

14:06

reminded us. Dogs

14:10

don't worry about how they look and

14:12

oppose. They

14:14

don't get mad at puppies for

14:17

being more flexible. They

14:21

just stretch intuitively

14:25

and it feels good, and

14:28

then they wag their way into

14:31

the next good thing, moment

14:36

to moment. That

14:39

was one of the things they taught us. I

14:45

was assigned to getting the

14:47

medium sized dogs out

14:50

of their seat belts and

14:53

hooked into their leashes, and

14:57

they were such good pups for me. I

15:02

gave each one a treat as

15:04

I clipped them in, and

15:08

then we made our way down the steps

15:10

of the van and into the

15:12

lot.

15:16

Another volunteer met

15:18

me there, and

15:20

we each took two dogs and

15:23

headed toward the garden and benches

15:28

beside the side doors of the library.

15:33

We had water bowls set

15:36

up there, and

15:38

we let the pups sniff and

15:41

take a potty break. I

15:45

looked through the glass into

15:47

the new wing and saw

15:50

a row of kids with

15:53

their hands and faces pressed

15:57

against the windows, all

16:01

eager to check out a dog. For

16:04

a couple of hours, we

16:09

would do some basic training,

16:13

more for the kids than for

16:15

the dogs. Then

16:19

we'd take a walk and

16:22

finish with some stories out

16:24

here in the garden. There

16:28

were also a couple of treats and

16:31

surprises set

16:34

up for the morning, and

16:38

as I thought through our schedule, I

16:42

had a moment of realizing how

16:45

happy I was, being

16:51

so grateful that this

16:53

was my job, and

16:56

feeling that joy is

17:00

through my body. If

17:03

I had one,

17:06

I'd have been wagging my tail. Summer

17:13

at the library. The

17:18

library opened at

17:21

nine a m. But

17:25

by quarter to eight there

17:28

was a good sized crowd outside.

17:34

From inside, at the circulation

17:37

desk, as I scanned

17:39

books and

17:42

organized the flyers and

17:45

bookmarks lining the

17:47

top, I

17:50

could see groups of parents and

17:53

kids, folks

17:56

with their books and computer

17:59

bags ready

18:02

to study or

18:04

get back to work on their novels,

18:09

and others who were eager for

18:12

their next great read.

18:18

The library had just gone

18:20

through a renovation. We

18:25

were housed in

18:28

an old brick building on

18:31

the edge of the park, a

18:35

few blocks from the center of downtown,

18:40

and though we'd always done

18:42

our best to

18:44

serve as many people as we could,

18:49

we'd been limited. Our

18:54

one meeting room was small,

19:00

our stacks were crowded, and

19:05

we'd often had to turn down

19:07

speakers and

19:09

events for lack of accommodation.

19:16

When the land beside and

19:19

behind our building had

19:21

been donated to us, we

19:25

leaped at the opportunity to expand.

19:30

We added a

19:32

new wing full

19:35

of open space and

19:39

large windows. We

19:44

had meeting rooms plural

19:47

now, some

19:50

small for study groups

19:54

and two larger ones for

19:57

lectures and commune

20:00

the events. There

20:05

were gardens and

20:08

a small patio where

20:10

patrons could sit outside

20:14

in nice weather, even

20:19

walking paths and

20:21

the acres behind the building.

20:26

And since the expansion

20:30

we'd become a

20:33

favorite location for

20:35

school trips. If

20:41

it sounds like I'm bragging, it's

20:44

because I am.

20:49

Nothing makes a librarian happier

20:54

than seeing young faces discovering

20:58

the joys of the life library. Our

21:04

collections had grown along

21:08

with the space. We

21:11

had new cabinets

21:14

for history exhibits. We'd

21:20

just taken down a collection

21:23

of gowns and fancy

21:25

hats, shoes

21:28

and brooches from

21:31

the Gilded Age,

21:34

and we were currently installing a

21:37

collection of fossils found

21:41

on a farm out

21:44

beyond the apple orchards.

21:49

We had expanded collections

21:52

of fiction and memoirs,

21:57

children's books and media.

22:03

We lent out appliances

22:06

and musical instruments,

22:09

garden tools, and

22:13

today we

22:16

were lending something even

22:19

more special. We

22:24

partnered up with

22:26

a pet rescue,

22:30

and those eager kids

22:33

and parents outside

22:35

the front door were

22:39

coming to check out dogs

22:41

for a walk through the trails

22:46

and some story time. As

22:52

the clock ticked over to nine

22:54

am, one

22:57

of the other librarians walked

23:00

past me with

23:02

a broad smile on

23:05

his face. We

23:08

chuckled together. We

23:11

were all looking forward

23:15

to today. He

23:20

went to the door, and

23:23

as he unlocked it and

23:26

stood back to

23:29

let our patrons in, I

23:33

saw a van with

23:36

a happy logo across

23:39

its panels of

23:42

a wagging tail pull

23:46

into the parking lot across

23:52

the hood. In

23:54

big letters, it

23:58

said the animals

24:02

bringing your next furry

24:04

friend to you. I

24:11

chuckled to myself as

24:14

I stepped out from behind the

24:16

desk and

24:19

made my way through our

24:21

patrons and out to

24:23

the lot. Before

24:28

I even got close, I

24:32

could hear the excited barking

24:37

and see a few pairs of

24:39

eyes peeking through

24:41

the windows. The

24:47

van was a refitted

24:50

short school bus,

24:54

and when the door folded back

24:57

and I was invited

24:59

to climb aboard, I

25:03

smiled at the rows of special

25:06

seats and

25:09

the pups buckled into

25:11

their harnesses. There

25:17

were about a dozen dogs,

25:21

some bigger a

25:24

collie, a

25:26

chocolate lab, a

25:30

pity, and

25:33

a very shaggy mix with

25:36

gray and white spots.

25:41

Then some middle

25:43

sized booches, some

25:46

kind of hound dog, a

25:49

Dalmatian, a

25:52

cocker spaniel, a

25:55

couple that I couldn't

25:58

describe other than very

26:01

cute.

26:04

And in the front row the

26:07

smallest dogs, small

26:11

enough to

26:13

share two to a seat, or

26:17

two red haired docsins, a

26:21

Yorkie, and

26:23

something that, as

26:26

far as I could tell, was

26:29

an actual teddy bear pretending

26:32

to be a dog. I

26:36

was filled with giddy

26:39

joy. As

26:42

a dog lover and

26:45

pet parent, I

26:48

got to see my own kiddy and

26:51

dog every day,

26:54

and I regularly admired

26:58

the pups we saw on our walks.

27:04

But it had been a long time

27:07

since I had been so completely

27:10

surrounded

27:13

by canine excitement. And

27:17

it felt like

27:21

Christmas morning, like

27:25

a ticker tape parade,

27:29

like the first day of

27:31

summer vacation. The

27:37

dogs seemed to

27:39

share that feeling. Their

27:42

tails bumped

27:45

against the seats as

27:48

they strained toward me. I'd

27:54

done a short training with

27:56

the shelter to

27:59

be able to help today, and

28:03

I remembered that I

28:06

was supposed to be helping

28:08

to get the pups off

28:10

the bus, not

28:14

just petting them while

28:16

grinning like a goon. I

28:22

shrugged an apology to the driver,

28:26

and he assured me it happened

28:28

a lot. Dogs

28:33

make us present, he

28:35

said, and sometimes

28:37

we forget everything else. Boy,

28:42

that was true.

28:45

It was something my yoga teacher

28:48

frequently said. When we were

28:50

stretching into downward

28:53

facing dog, she

28:57

reminded us. Dogs

29:01

don't worry about

29:03

how they look in the pose. They

29:09

don't get mad at puppies for

29:12

being more flexible. They

29:16

just stretch intuitively

29:19

and it feels good, and

29:22

then they wag their way into

29:26

the next good thing, moment

29:31

to moment. That

29:34

was one of the things they taught us.

29:40

I was assigned to

29:43

getting the medium sized dogs

29:46

out of their seatbelts and

29:50

buckled into their leashes, and

29:53

they were such good pups

29:55

for me. I

29:59

gave each one a treat

30:02

as I clipped them in, and

30:06

then we made our way down the

30:08

steps of the van and

30:11

into the lot. Another

30:16

volunteer met

30:18

me there, and

30:21

we each took two dogs and

30:25

headed toward the garden and

30:28

benches beside

30:31

the side doors of the library. We

30:37

had water bowls set

30:39

up there for the pups and

30:42

let them sniff and

30:45

take potty breaks.

30:51

I looked through the glass

30:54

into the new wing and

30:58

saw a row of kids

31:02

with their hands and faces

31:06

pressed against the windows,

31:10

all eager to check out a

31:12

dog. For a couple of hours,

31:17

we would do some basic training,

31:22

more for the kids than

31:24

for the dogs. Then

31:28

we'd take a walk and

31:30

finish with some stories

31:34

out here in the garden. There

31:38

were also a couple of treats

31:41

and surprises set

31:44

up for the morning, and

31:48

as I thought through our schedule,

31:52

I had a moment of

31:56

realizing how happy

31:58

I was, of

32:03

being so

32:05

grateful that this

32:08

was my job, and

32:12

feeling that joy effortvess

32:16

through my body. If

32:21

I had one,

32:24

I'd have been wagging my tail.

32:30

Sweet Dreams