The roots of this story are grounded in the backyard of my childhood home – literally. I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, in the region called the Mid-South, known for its slow-paced living and temperate climate. Life seemed more leisurely then, less pressured than today. Maybe it’s just the difference between an adult’s and a child’s perspective, but it seemed that people had time to work and time to relax and recharge. The relaxation component is something that’s touted today as essential to our well-being. It even has a name – work-life balance – and nowadays, people actually have to schedule downtime to make sure that it happens.

One of my early childhood memories may offer an insight into my future choice of profession as a librarian. I clearly recall scrutinizing a family comic book whose storyline involved the adventures of a handful of puppies. I had probably heard the story many times from my parents or older siblings, but I was still a pre-reader and couldn’t read the speech balloons myself. However, I knew without a doubt that they contained the dialogue of the story. I did not yet have the skill to decode those intriguing marks and signs, but the thought of one day being able to read them myself filled me with heady anticipation. And indeed, it wasn’t long before I learned to read, and the world of words opened up before me.