I Cheated

If I was Catholic, I would go to confession. I assume that I would start by saying to the priest, "Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." (People really say this, right, or is this just what I've learned from television and movies?) When I moved to the DC area in 2001, I immediately entered into a relationship. Despite moving to different areas of Northern Virginia, the relationship continued, and I've been faithful throughout the past 11 years. Obviously, there have been ups and downs in the relationship. There were times that I was neglectful and not always around. Conversely, there were times when perhaps I was needy and overstayed my welcome. Nevertheless, the relationship was always there, and I was never swayed to cheat...until yesterday.

I'm embarrassed to write this, but I feel that I need to come clean. Although I've been loyal to the Fairfax County Public Library system and got a library card almost immediately after moving to Northern Virginia, I now have a library card through the Arlington County Public Library. I just finished a book and have several that I'd like to read including Don't Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench by Mark Titus; Taft 2012: A Novel by Jason Heller; and Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad by Peter Bergen. Yes, this is an eclectic group of books. Anyway, FCPL doesn't have the first two books in their catalog while they only have 4 copies of the Peter Bergen book. I'm currently #144 on the hold list. Meanwhile, Arlington County Public Library has all three books in the catalog. The Jason Heller book is available immediately, the Mark Titus book should be available soon and there are 12 copies of the Peter Bergen book where I'm #40 on the hold list. I should mention that the Fairfax County Public Library system is much bigger and serves a much larger population. Therefore, I don't know why they appear to be lagging significantly behind the Arlington County Public Library system.

In case you're wondering, I'm not leaving the Fairfax County Public Library system. I support the library through my taxes and have attended several books sales over the years. I also look forward to taking my child to programs there this summer. However, I'm no longer in an exclusive relationship. To FCPL, I'd say that it's not you, it's me, but in this case, it truly is you.