Open Books is OPEN

You may have already read about the opening here, and here...
But I know that I need to also share some of my thoughts about the Grand Opening!


As I said in my little speech at the Friday night party....words are hard to come by in describing what this milestone means to me.

I have been working on Open Books for 3 1/2 years. It has been absolutely a labor of love.
I have watched it grow from 2 women in a basement, to where we are today! 9 full time staff members, an army of interns, 2,300 volunteers/supporters, over 300,000 books collected and this beautiful store, here NOW, not sometime, unknown. NOW. It's here. It has finally arrived.

I think Emily's description (while way too flattering) comparing me to the night of my wedding is very accurate. At many moments during the planning I compared the process to planning my wedding. The invites! The guests! The food! The moment your heart stops because you don't think the photo slideshow is going to work! The dress! (which it deserves to be mentioned, that I have ALWAYS said, that if and WHEN we open this damn store, I am going to Anthropologie, my favorite store of all time, and buying a brand new dress, not even on clearance. And that is exactly. what. I. did.)

But more than the dress, the food, the guests, what made it feel most like my wedding night was that I was marking a moment in my life that I will never forget, because it was a moment in time completely dedicated to things I LOVE! (Yes, just like my love for Nick...)

My love of books
My love for the journey and process of starting an organization.
My love of the amazing working relationship I've been fortunate to have with Stacy, our founder.
My love for all of the amazing people I've met along the way, partners, interns, some of them have become my closest friends!
My love for such an IMPORTANT cause.

I don't think I stopped smiling the entire night Friday night.
I will soon share some of my favorite photos from the evening (besides all the GORGEOUS one's emily took) that were taken by a lovely woman, who donated her talented eye for the evening.

To be surrounded by people you love, your friends, family, and something you've worked so hard for......it is difficult to top.

The weekend was also wonderful, marked SO special by a surprise visit from Nate & Greta who once again shocked me with their AMAZING gift of time and support. Having you both there means more than you'll ever know.


Another very special part of the weekend was sharing Open Books with my family. Nick and Finn.

I remember telling Stacy Ratner, about 3 or 4 months into the Open Books project that I was pregnant. I remember my belly swelling....and growing...and finally becoming a pretty handy place to rest a book. I remember thinking, my kids will grow up in this bookstore. My kids, hopefully, when they talk about their lives will say, "Yeah! So my mom helped start this bookstore, I spent a lot of time there growing up, it was awesome! And that is why I love reading so much and am a super successful (fill in the blank)" :)


Seeing Finn, red balloon attached at the hip...running through the store, yanking books off shelves, talking on the podcast, "how do we get there?!" witnessing our first puppet show, and author events, taking it all in....was very special. Sharing it with Nick, who has helped out in so many ways throughout the years, always LISTENING to the struggles, and triumphs, encouraging me, taking SUCH good care of Finn as I put in some REALLY long hours.....never once complaining. He has been so wonderful and supportive and I hope he knows how much I appreciate him.

I know I have read, heard, seen on TV/Movies, that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Well....if that is the truth, this weekend is going to be in that flash.

Thank you to all of you that came, celebrated with me, have been there to listen, have donated books, have picked up books, volunteered, sent me a card, supported Open Books financially, stocked my house with food, sent flowers, helped out with Finn, care about literacy, THANK YOU!

I cannot WAIT to see what the next chapter of Open Books will be.