StoryPals

Last night Bella and I went to our first StoryPals night. It's a program through PALS where we go to the library and kids read to Bella (and me). We were there with two other dogs and their people and the kids got to come and read with a pals team for 20 minutes. One of the dogs was a wild flippy lab who WOULD NOT calm down. She was licking and pawing and generally acting like a silly lab. The other was an ancient golden who immediately went to sleep.

Then there was Bella. Wonderful, calm, Bella who discovered she loves children and stories.

Our first kid was a quiet, gentle grade 4 girl who read a book about golden retrievers to us. Bella immediately snuggled up to her and laid her chin on the girl's knee. Occasionally while the girl was reading Bella would bump under her elbow with her nose asking for a pet. Every time she did it the little girl would giggle (and giver her pets, of course). I love little girl giggling.

The next kid we had was a grade 2 boy who was just so delightfully squirmy. He was on his back, his stomach, his side, squiggling all over the floor around us. Bella laid down in front of him and kept laying her head on his book "to see the pictures." The little monkey read us a book about monsters and worked so hard at it that when he was done I told him he could just pet Bella for a bit until the time was up. He SO GENTLY examined her feet and her ears and her nose. And Bella kept giving his hair a lick (I think he might have had some dinner in it) which made him giggle. I love little boy giggling, too.

I so enjoyed watching that little guy work so hard to read his story and getting on the floor with him and talking about words and pictures. I really miss kids. I love listening to their mixed up, too-excited story telling where you have to decode what they mean.  I nearly burst into tears with missing busy, curious, naughty, joyful kids.

And I'm pretty sure Bella wanted to take him home with us.