Finding Joy In Children's Books Pt.1

I started my early adulthood as many do.

College at 18...check.

Leave college at 19...check.

Fell in love, fell out of love and worked as a Barista...check.

Moved around Portland, OR working with kiddos as a Nanny...check.

Moved to NYC to work as a Nanny (the first time, yes there is another time coming) and be with my best friends. I mean, what else do you do in your mid 20s?...check.

I will stop here, because there are three other lifetimes that I have been through and it would become a big check list, if I named them all.

Okay, I realize that these aren't things that we all have checked off our lists. But, many of us will/have experienced growth, leaps of faith and some pains along the way.

One of the constants in my life has always been one thing....children. I have been a Nanny for over 20 years, worked as a pre-school teacher, have a degree with a focus in Child and Family Studies, heck, I even have one of my own now. Finding something that would bring joy as I found a new identity as a mom, seemed unreal. But, I knew I needed to do it, or I would lose myself completely.

My whole life, I have LOVED books. Books were my escape as my parent's headed towards divorce. They were there for me when my mom decided that she wanted to live a life without her children. They were something that I cherished, inhaled and connected to love and comfort. I knew when I had my daughter, books HAD to be a huge part of our lives.

Enter PaperPie (formerly Usborne Books & More) six years ago today. It was a way for me to connect with those I had made friendships with after saying goodbye to that yucky leggings company (yes I sold LuLaRoe for a short bit and loved it, until I didn't). I quickly dove in and worked to get as many books for our library as I could and along the way, I became a leader. I love helping others on their journey and being a literacy lady gave me that outlet. We built our library and then some. Once that was accomplished, I started working in my community to get books in the hands of organizations working with children and families. As I transitioned through the years, I decided that I wanted to be out in my community, sharing books through storytelling.

Enter 2019. I started telling everyone about my idea to start a storytime business. I met local business owners who loved my vision and gave me a shot. I was loving what I was building and could not wait for the next year to come; 2020 was definitely going to be my year.