I wish....

Tomorrow is the Homeschool Book Fair in Arlington. I have been every year for the past 9 years. This year would have been my 10th, but I'm not going and I wish I was. No, I didn't forget about it. The date has been on my calendar for at least 6 months, but Alyssa has a dance competition this weekend in another town 2 hours away. As with all dance competitions, we didn't find out when she was dancing until a week before. By the time I figured out I actually could go, Southwest's cheap fares were no longer cheap and several other things had crept onto the calendar as well.

But still, I wish I was there. A whole convention center full of books that I can peruse and touch and smell all day--a bibliophile's little piece of heaven on earth. Even better than all the books that make my heart go pitter patter are my sweet friends, some of whom I only see at the bookfair each year. And every year I go to lunch with Kether and an assortment of other ladies at Jason's Deli. While we munch on sandwiches and soup, we share what treasures we've found and ask the usual questions: Have you used this book? Did that work for your child? Is that science curriculum really worth $200?

I thought I could live without going, that I could choose books for next year without attending--and I have, but I can promise you that this time next year I'll be in Arlington getting ready to eat lunch and chat with my precious friends there and trying to figure out how I'm going to get all those books back on the plane.