Thank you, Mom

Last month I wrote about my belief that reading and books can change lives. Now I'd like to share with you where that belief came from: my mom. Our mother is amazing for a variety of reasons. She taught third and fourth grade for nearly four decades but always managed to have dinner prepped for our family of six and any number of family members and friends that happened to be living with us at the time. She attended every play, sporting event or activity we were in and she always knows what to say when we are stressing out. There are things my mother and I share that I'll always cherish: our yearly fall apple picking adventure, the conversation we had about growing up on the night before I left for college, decorating the house so it looked like Christmas exploded every winter, dancing to Rainbow Connection on my wedding day, Sunday church followed by amazing lunches and a deep appreciation for the importance of family. Perhaps the memory that has shaped the person I've become more than anything though is our constant “book trips.” It started when I was very little. We would go to the Amherst Public Library for entire afternoons. I can still remember running up their stone staircase to the second floor where they kept the children's books. Whether we were there for story time or just so I could reread Where the Sidewalk Ends, The BFG, or any Seuss book for the 100th time these were always the best afternoons we'd spend together. As I got older, book trips grew as well. When I attended the school where mom taught, she'd give me money for the Book Fair. This gave way to afternoon trips to Barnes & Noble or Borders where we would buy stacks of books in every topic, creating a TBR bag of books that would nearly be ripping through the plastic. Even now, many of our conversations turn to books. We have phone calls based entirely around what books I need to read, titles she should look for to add to her iPad, and what she's drudging through for her next book club meeting. In fact, just a few weeks back she was beaming on the phone telling me about how she'd gotten all of her group to join a waiting list for an eBook from their library. Always a teacher. I'd like to think that my passion for reading would have grown organically, but thankfully my mom was there to make sure I didn't need to find out. I am who I am today for a variety of reasons and the path that led me to OverDrive has been filled with countless memorable people and experiences who have shaped what I've become. But it all started with a mother and a library card. I love you mom. Happy Mother's Day Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist at OverDrive… and a bit of a momma's boy.

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