Saturday at the library wasn't going too great. After battling three super long digital content questions that I wasn't able to fully resolve, I felt like a failure. After awhile, whenever a patron asked me a question, I was secretly thinking, boy have you picked the wrong person to ask for help.
But I gave each patron everything I had and even made some awkward phone calls in the hopes of finding solutions. Surprisingly, all three patrons were still appreciative and thanked me for going above and beyond.
I think "above and beyond" translates to dropping them off on a strange planet and shouting, "Good luck! See you later!" as I rocketed away to help someone else.
After a long day of not being very helpful, I was flustered, drained, and silently berating myself. I was ready to find my own faraway planet and have a lonely pity party.
Just as we were closing the library though, something happened that made me feel alright with the world again. A giant of a man, no doubt a firefighter, wrestling champion, and construction worker all rolled into one, had something very special tucked under one of his enormous arms.
It was this:
Inside the book was one of my staff picks bookmarks.
Whether he was checking it out for himself or one of his kids, seeing him with the book erased all doubts and frustrations. He will never know it, but he gave me back that sense of belonging I have whenever I'm at the library.
Tomorrow is a brand new day, and I think I'm ready for it.
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