Painting by Korrie Sabbagh

Around the World with Books Theme.

I adore this painting Korrie did! Her vision of the vintage French balloons turned out beautiful. She’s coming back to paint more. The whole Dewey Decimal System has balloons marking each hundreds section. And she’s going to paint another one to go by the huge post by my circ desk.

My library is as good as it can be for now. I have gotten out everything that was put away, rearranged, organized, cleaned, thrown out, and done whatever so far for it to be presentable. I also remade my “library bell” poster, hung up rules poster, made my sections of the library boxes, and put out updated periodicals.
I am now at the mercy of my wonderful parent volunteers to help me with the “real” decorating. I have one helper so far who’s coming in Thursday.
This is the first year (first year!) that I’ve ever gone in to work prior to the first real work day. I must say that even though teacher’s unions don’t want us to do this, it makes me feel much less stressed. I’ve been better able to pace myself and get organized instead of the mad rush to get everything done before school begins.
I still need electrical to the OPACs. But that’s coming this week.
Oh, and this is big: I haven’t had air conditioning all week. Yeah. And all of our professional development this week is, yeah, in the library. I had A/C problems all last year. Hope this year is better but right now, I have little faith!

Spent all day at my library. It got new carpet this summer and new tile in my office. I think I like it. But it’s a change and change is always exciting as well as scary. The biggest change is that I requested the circulation desk be moved. Of course, this instigated a lot of questions and problems including moving electrical, dropping more cat 5 line, where to move the 4 OPACs, etc.
That’s why we’re resistant to change, I guess. It’s because though change can be inspiring and give you a fresh new outlook, with that change comes other stuff that you hadn’t bargained for.
But I’ve made a decision for this school year (and this is wildly brave of me to even write “out loud” for all the world to see because now there’s no going back): I’ve decided that I’m NOT going to freak out as my first reaction. This might not be hard for you but for me, and I guess I’m just so cynical that I almost expect the worst at every turn, freaking out is really part of my day. I feel like I’m always stressed and that other people do it to me.
But no more! I realize that (and by the way I only mean this for my work day because home is entirely another matter) I can just take the bad with the good and nobody is really going to die. Every problem has a solution. God, that’s so cliche. But I mean it! I think I’ll have a happier, healthier school year if I just let go a little or a lot.
I seriously could have freaked out at least three times today at school. First of all, I went in yesterday and today which was 2 weeks before I was “required” to be there. I love my job but that is sooooo unlike me. And, to make a long story short, things that I thought were supposed to have been done were not and other things were done incorrectly. Both of these “things” could have been done on time and correctly if some people would have been more conscientious, caring, and on the ball.
But, I have to realize that no matter how much I want them to be, other people are not perfect in their actions–just like me and my frequent imperfect reactions.

So today everything was dealt with and I had a smile on my face.  And that felt good.  I’ll keep you posted on my new positive reactions.