My Reflection

This past weekend I hosted by first pop up event at my local flea market. I was a little nervous and not sure what to expect. Set up wasn’t too difficult. My daughter joined me so I had help. I wasn’t there long before I got my first sale. I was really excited. Over all, I broke even. By the end of the day I made enough to cover my cost for setting up shop. I don’t think I was truly expecting more than that. There was lot’s of foot traffic. I did not advertise. I simply wanted to get out there and see how people would respond.

Interacting with people was fun. There were plenty of well wishers that stopped by. Many of the public facing books on display were bilingual Spanish/English children’s books. In general, people were supportive of our mission to carefully curate a collection of books written by a wide range of ethnically and racially diverse authors telling authentic stories. There were lots of discussions about representation and the importance of encouraging a love of reading for children.

My favorite part of the day was being visited by a family with a young bookworm. This school age child spotted our booth from across the rows. They immediately stopped eyeing the boxes of gadgets in front of them and sidled up to their mother whispering. As they walked to our booth, they were laser focused. Once they arrived they became bashful. Recognizing they were most likely at a more advanced reading level than what was displayed, I quickly encouraged them to go through a bin of books that were more age appropriate. Watching them greedily dig through the books made me as happy as a Latina grandmother when you finish the plate of food she made for you. When they found their book the glow in their eyes lit up our booth as they held their cherished prize tight to their chest. Their father paid and they scampered away.

Reflecting on this interaction gave me so much joy. This was the personification of my “why”. I want to open a bookstore because I want to feed all the little bookworms out there. Even those that didn’t know they were a bookworm until they find the perfect book.