Over the weekend, I spent time cleaning and organizing, which lead (of course) to the unpacking of more books. There’s a commonality between my husband and I there: our love of books. We might not always agree on the genre – I have a vast collection of mostly children literature, classic novels and more recent fiction, whereas his collection features more history and books on the fire service than anything else – but nevertheless, we both love books.
As a result…we have a lot of books between the two of us. So many that we don’t have enough bookshelves for them and are storing some in boxes. Personally, I’m hoping that we don’t have to keep them all boxed until the house is finished, because that’s at least a year away and to be separated from my beloved books for that long just seems tragic. I know, I know, the pathos are positively dripping. But what is the point of owning so many good books if you can’t get to them?!
Anyhow, I unearthed a couple more boxes and found a few niches in the apartment to stack them in. And (of course) whilst doing so, I rediscovered a few favorites, including this adorable gem:
I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
Okay, so when my husband and I first started dating, we both knew that we didn’t want to mess with each other’s hearts unless we both were seriously considering marriage. I fell for him fast and he wasn’t far behind, but it still took awhile and some trust before either of us broke down and admitted it openly to each other with the declaration of, “I love you.” Before that? It was a lot of, “I like you…” In retrospect, it was kind of silly, but it made me smile especially since I’d read this adorable little book that crammed the feeling of i-love-you into a book about all the whys and wherefores of why the narrator likes the person he’s addressing throughout the entire book. Little wonder I gave it to my boyfriend as a token gift on our first dating anniversary.
Back-story aside, this book is honestly just delightful in the sappiest way. It’s the perfect little gift for anyone you love—er, I mean, LIKE! Seriously, how can you get better than this:
…You know how to be silly
That’s why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because
You know when it’s time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Oops too late
It’s quarter past silly
and…
Even if it was the nine hundred and ninety-ninth of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
And I would, oh, how I would. I’ve already chosen, but if I had to choose again, I’d choose him. Because I like that fire-fighter of mine.