Reflections

 

Right before we left for Winter Break, a graduating senior thanked me for making the library such a safe space for her. Little did she know, this was probably the greatest professional compliment I could have received. I truly believe that one of my jobs is to create a space where everyone feels welcome, safe, and has a sense of belonging.  One of the key ways that I can do this is by making sure each student is able to find a book in the library that is a reflection of themselves. How can you feel safe if you feel unseen?

I think this is what is upsetting me so much about the current push to ban certain books from libraries. The majority of the books being challenged are reflections of populations that have gone unseen for far too long. Whenever I give book talks, I remind students that sometimes the book that they check out may not be the right book for them at that time (for all sorts of reasons), and as mature readers they need to recognize that and return it. However, that very book may be exactly what the person sitting next to them needs. We cannot remove books to protect some students when we know removing them will harm others. We all must have the #fREADom to find the book we need. "I support a person's right to read a book, and I support their right not to.  That's part of why we work really hard to buy a really diverse library full of books, we want you to find the book of your heart.  We really do." - Karen Jensen

I'm Tired

It's the Friday before Thanksgiving Break, and I'm tired.  With the days getting shorter, the COVID numbers spiking, friends getting sick, and school schedules always in flux, I'm done.  So, how do I get out of this exhaustion funk...? By looking back and looking forward.  Looking back,  I'm energized by the fact that I've had the opportunity to interact with students (even for a short time), made updating the library a priority, and safely visited with friends and family outdoors while the weather was still warm. Looking forward, I'm excited that my daughter and son will be coming home this weekend, that an Aussiedoodle puppy will be moving in with us on Dec. 21, 2020 (making me a whole new kind of tired), and that a vaccine for this unrelenting virus will become available in the next few months.  

And of course, there are always books.  My TBR pile has grown as new book orders have arrived. These books give me the opportunity to get lost in worlds that are not my own.  I will delight in the new characters I meet, the new places I get to go, and the problems that are solved in a few hundred pages.  "A word after a word after a word is power" (Margaret Atwood), maybe just enough power to wake me up?! 

It's the Little Things

 

Pretzel day is coming!  That's the email I sent out to my staff today.  Needless to say, the response has been overwhelming enthusiastic.  This got me thinking... by celebrating the little things, we truly appreciate life.  

Several years ago, a family friend and I went to the Farmers' Market.  We wandered throughout the stalls and her bag steadily filled as mine remained empty.  As we approached one of the last vendors, I picked up a small mason jar shaker filled with honey and excitedly exclaimed how perfect it would be filled with cinnamon sugar, and that I had been on the lookout for such a thing.  My friend immediately burst into fits of laughter.  "How can you possibly by so excited by a cinnamon sugar shaker?" she asked.  I didn't really have an answer for her.  But, honestly the answer is simple, it is the ability to genuinely embrace the little things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for grand gestures, trips, events, etc... but my joy isn't tied to those moments.  It is truly found in the simplest of things: a cinnamon shaker, a clean house, a good book, coffee with friends, pretzel day.  So my wish and hope for you, is to find those simple, little, seeming insignificant moments of joy and embrace them enthusiastically.

“Change is the only constant in life.” - Heraclitus

 

Right now, the one thing that feels consistent is constant change. We heard there were no sports, then there are. We were going to use this learning tool, nope - we're using this one instead.  We are learning remotely, until we are not. Dealing with this reality can make your head spin and cause anxiety, stress, and even depression. The amount of change we are facing right now, is more extreme than usual. However, like Heraclitus said, "change is the only constant...", and learning to live with varying levels of change is a life skill that needs to start now.

I've had several conversations with teachers about how difficult it is to not interact in person with students.  I've also heard teachers express how some of the changes they've had to make to assignments, in order to take advantage of the technology, are ones they will continue to use.  Finding those small "chances" to make something better, despite all the changes, is how I know we're going to be just fine.

School Starts on Tuesday

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll

"Curiouser and curiouser!" School starts on Tuesday and this is how I am feeling. Have we all fallen through the rabbit hole? I think maybe we have. We might not meet the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, or Cheshire Cat but we are definitely venturing into a strange new world. Maybe, if like Alice, we think of this as an ADVENTURE our daily frustrations will be new discoveries. Then, we will all emerge with clever stories to tell.  

Every once in a while, I do think it will be all right to channel the Cheshire Cat and exclaim, "We're all mad here".

"Be Here Now"

"I am the one thing in life I can control" - Wait For It Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  This line, which Aaron Burr sings in Hamilton, has been running trough my head quite a bit over the last week or so.  It seems we are all in a holding pattern and what comes next is very much out of our individual control.  

So, I am choosing to focus on what I can control - on the NOW.

• I have created 'Remote Learning' slides and put them on the Olathe South Library Website (https://olatheschools.libguides.com/c.php?g=952906&p=7638243), so that if that is where we end up students will have access to tools that will allow them to be successful.  
• I have written letters to School Board members expressing the concerns and challenges that I feel are relevant regarding the upcoming school year. 
•  I have read many quality YA novels and written reviews for my Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/falcons_read/?hl=en).
• I have taken classes to keep learning and improving my professional skills.
• And, I have continued to have conversations with colleagues to share book recommendations, teaching ideas, and library procedures.

When I look at this list, I feel a sense of relief.  There are many unknowns.  But I can choose to "Be Here Now" and control what I can.  The rest.... it will work itself out.

Why I'm Reading, What I'm Reading

With the world being so topsy-turvy, I find that my reading habits are as well.  While it would seem that I have all the time in the world to read - and two bags full of new titles to pick from, I have honestly been reading the most at night and often falling asleep with an open book.  I also find that I have been picking up sequels more than reading those new titles.  I think that is because there is a comfort in rejoining old friends.  My brain and heart aren't being forced to engage with new, unknown characters.  I suppose that familiarity is something I need right now.  When I am picking up new titles, Stamped, They Went Left, Internment - for example,  I have to balance it with lighter fair, The Opposite of Always, Sick Kids in Love, and Frankly in Love. And I am OKAY with this.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to read about love and happy endings.  I also feel that even in this lighter fair, I am learning answers to questions I didn't know I had, becoming wiser, and better.  In the end, that's what reading really is meant to be.
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