As much as I’m a homebody, I like a good adventure. Specifically, one that will teach me something. And this likely stems from my childhood since we were not the family whose vacations were vegging out on a beach or waiting in the long lines of a theme park, we were the family that went to places like “the Grand Canyon of the east” and Gettysburg.

Maybe that’s why I became a librarian. Endless learning possibilities.

I’ve built my own family and (not ironically), we have the same adventures. I also have a fellow librarian who likes learning adventures that usually also include a good drink or spectacular food too. This past Friday night, we spent a bundled up half an hour touring the oldest Dutch home in our area in desperate need of restoration to return it to its former glory. But not to make it a museum. Instead, the historic foundation would like to make sure it’s used as a soft space appreciating the history and glory while being functional. So often we throw away things that are old or unusable. Heck, I still guiltily think about my first year as a school librarian saying “get it out of here!” to the overpowering but beautiful card catalog holding up a few computers. It was the best decision to find it a new home, but I think about it from time to time. The stories it held, the kids hands who touched it, the years it had seen.

Kind of like the stories that are told in What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings them Joy, Magic, and Meaning by Bill Shapiro. Just like this Dutch home that had seen families and industry, been remodeled and redone, only to be discovered again. What stories it holds.

What can you discover around your area, especially the old things, the often overlooked things?