Sundays at the bookstore are often fun. Usually, I am alone at the store and I always enjoy that as the rhythm of day is slower and easily handled by one person. Yesterday, I brought my dog to the store with me after letting her pick out a new toy at the pet store. This was a mistake, but a funny one later in the day. Cute children, mostly out with their fathers, abounded. There is something lovely about Sundays at the store. People have more time to browse or read to their kids, and kids are very relaxed.

My day started with a young family waiting for me to open a half-hour early. I got to work early because of my dog. I had to walk her, and they patiently waited while Allie quickly took care of business. The little boy thought it was very funny that Allie walked into the store carrying her new toy. He and his mom browsed for a bit then came up to the register. The boy, about three, handed me his books and said, with no prompting from his mom, “Thanks for having books I want to buy.” Never in 20 years of bookselling has a child so young thanked me for the quality of books we carry. I was charmed.
The next family to come in was a dad and his two kids. Sundays, I’ve noticed are days when dads often come in with their children. Yesterday was extremely dad-heavy. The kids were all enjoying themselves very much that some clearly felt like they were at home. One little girl kept singing Old MacDonald very loudly, but with such joy everyone in the store just chuckled and a few folks chimed in on the EIEIO parts. There was an immediate sense of community brought on by this one joyous child.
The last charming part of the day was my dog. She picked out a hedgehog toy and played with it much of the day. The problem with said toy was it was a squeaker toy. Play this little video and then imagine that happy squeaking noise happening all day. Children were giggling, parents were smiling and the dog was happy as a clam.
Working on Sunday is a mix of feeling like I’m in my living room relaxing with folks who love books, and conducting business. The pace is slower and I love that. There’s no frenetic wrapping for birthday parties people are late for. People come to the store on Sunday because they love books and want to be around them. And that is a perfect day to me.