As a working mom, it’s an extra challenge for me to find special quality time to spend with my son. If I’m not cooking dinner, I’m cleaning the bathroom. If I’m not cleaning the bathroom, I’m doing laundry. If I’m not doing laundry, I’m returning phone calls.

Since the weather in Seattle has been nice(r) the past few weeks, I’ve been utilizing our commute home time. Gone is the mad rush from daycare to our apartment, where I pause under building awnings to shield the stroller from the massive amounts of rain and wind. Now, with the higher temperatures and brief peeks of sunshine, my son and I can enjoy the walk home. We can mosey into the bakery for a snack, or stop off at the market to buy fresh produce. We can even make a stop for Mommy to see what’s on sale at Ann Taylor (which, hello, is always having an awesome sale).

Because of this reaquaintance with downtown, I’ve fallen back in love with the Seattle Public Library. Anyone that has ever visited Seattle (in the last few years) have seen the library. There is no way to miss it’s geometric shape and windows that seem to go on and on forever. If you’ve stepped inside you’ve seen the brightly colored walls and rooms painted in different shades of red.  It really is a sight to see.

Babboo and I have been making regular stops at the library to spend time in their awesome (AWESOME!) children’s section.   Not only is the downtown library home to thousands (THOUSANDS!) of books, they also have puzzles, games, and computers for the kids to use.  (The kids are limited to 1 hour/day of computer time, which I appreciate.)  There are books for young kids, books for middle readers and even books in all different languages, from German to Swahili.   (We picked up quite a few books in German for my husband to read to our son.)

Being able to sit back and read to my son without the pressure of cooking and dinner is something that I am now just beginning to appreciate.  I hope the weather continues to improve so that Babboo and I can keep taking advantage of these little outings to the Seattle Public library.

So tell me, do you take advantage of the library in your area?  If so, how do you use it?

Isabel is a pseudonym for this Seattle-based blogger. She’s been working since the day she realized soda and lip gloss weren’t free. Isabel became a mom in 2006 and continues to work full time, outside the home, since diapers and mortgages aren’t free either. You can read far too much about her personal life at hola,isabel.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for “Double duty. One paycheck.”, email Isabel at holaisabel [at] gmail.com.