Reading? Pssshhh.

Who needs books when your library has a puppet theater and a huge fountain? I remember when I was a kid and going to the library meant actually picking out a few books to READ. But now? We park in the parking garage and Ella races ahead of me to jump on the escalator, and when we enter the library she says, "Mom, can we just go upstairs to the kid room and play in the fountain outside?". Between the indoor cafe, children's theater, and long rows of computers, this is not the library of my childhood. At the ripe old age of three Ella knows how to scan her library card and check out books herself and also how to get our parking ticket validated without my help. But of course, nothing is the same as it was back then. This is made clear to me on a daily basis when my three year old says things to me like, "Mom, can we just DVR it and watch it later when we can fast forward the commercials?" and "Can you turn on the computer so I can go to Noggin.com?".