Tuesday Slice: Chaos reigns

The library should be the bastion of calm organization...right?

My library is a hot mess right now.  

There are no less than five heavily-loaded boxes of books strewn about the floor--two destined for Goodwill (don't panic, they are old, donated, non-library books), if I can lug them to my car, the other four crammed with discarded library books that really, really belong in classroom libraries, if I can get teachers to take them at the beginning of next year.  I swore I was going to send them on to the warehouse, but these are fairly recent, really good books that we just don't have room for in our small space, so I want to give them one more chance.

I just discovered three more taped up boxes of books in the closet that I could have given away to students two weeks ago at our No-Price Bookstore.  There's always next year...

We have kits upon kits filling tables and stored on top of bookshelves as teachers who are leaving or changing positions return their items. 

And we are getting ready for a small but significant remodel, which entails moving everything out of the maintenance workers' way so they can tape off the area and get to work...as early as tomorrow.  We're about two-thirds through emptying that space, largely thanks to my hardworking library assistant. 

I have two tables of prizes displayed for my daily drawings of clear accounts--posters, jump ropes, hula hoops, coloring books, sunglasses... 

Did I mention that we are also in the middle of inventory, scanning every book in the library and every barcoded item in the classrooms?  And there will be summer school on my campus, so the librarian for the June program needs access to books and tables...

My mantras for the next three weeks: 

"One must break a few eggs to make an omelet."

"If it is not a mess, it's not progress." 

"Change is messy, but worth it."

"Breathe.  Just breathe."

 

Tuesday Slice: Bum knees

My every move

is dictated

these days

by two bum knees.

It's not their fault--

I fell on them

twice

in three days.

One is sporting

the largest

Band Aid

I could find

to cover an inch 

square gash

but otherwise 

looks okay.

The other is taped

with a smaller bandage

and feels

like a grapefruit

pressing against

my skinny jeans

the joint colored

in shades of plum.

If left too long 

in any position

both knees 

like to stiffen up

swell in different spots

I can feel the push

against them as

I stand, or sit.

The care of

these knees

has added

ten minutes to

my daily routine--

the changing

of bandages

the extra time

to put on shoes.

How I move,

how I sleep,

how I dress--

the knees,

for the time being,

are in control.

What a bummer.

 

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Abundance

 

Susan has given us the prompt of "abundance" 

to explore on our spiritual journey this month.

Enough vs enough already

I inherited a shopping gene

Passed from grandmother

To mother

To me

Not really hoarding

But collecting

Bargain hunting

Treasure seeking

A lot of rationalizing, too

(If it fits and it's on sale, 

buy all the colors)

For my grandmother, 

It was jewelry

For my mother,

It was yarn and

Collectibles

For me,

It is clothes

and books

and planner stickers

and kitchen stuff

and more books...

But a house can only hold so much

There comes a time when life expectancy

Is shorter than the time it will take

To read all the books

Make all the recipes

Use all the stickers

Wear all the clothes

(enough)

And tripping on a bag handle

In the hallway, where

A bag shouldn't be

Scraping one's knees

Is really a slap on the face

(enough, already)

Waking up to what abundance

Really is, and most importantly

What it isn't.

Tuesday Slice: It's still the campus Disneyland

There was a large group of visitors in my library last week, for the first time in a long time.  We were the "green room" for our career day presenters, tables laden with donuts, kolaches, breakfast tacos and bagels, with coffee, juice, and flavored water to wash it down.  There was a pleasant buzz as a counselor mom, city firefighter, and district police officer sat down and introduced themselves.  A dental tech and a prosthetics maker, both in scrubs, joined the group.  Computer engineers and a fitness specialist and a host of folks on other career paths brought the count to almost thirty.

At the same time, I had a central office employee pop in to volunteer with our library inventory.  We chatted during the quiet times as the crowd left for their presentation tables in the gym.  We knew a lot of people in common, having worked in the district for decades.  

I delivered book return carts, answered some emails, and played hostess until eleven am, when the career fair was over.  Leftover food was carted off to the teachers' lounge, and the space was converted back to a library for the class due to arrive at twelve.  Most of the afternoon was spent guiding kindergarteners in voting for their favorite Armadillo Readers' Choice book using our interactive flat panel.

Looking back on the day's events, I recall a conversation with a parent presenter.  She said my love for my work was apparent in the way her daughter talked about her library visits.  After nine years as a librarian on two campuses, I still feel like I get to work in the school Disneyland.