ridiculous

I have taken a ridiculous amount of adorable dog pictures lately.  I don't know what's going on, but something's up.  I can't keep up with all the cuteness.

Josie knows that at any moment Margo is going to be a jerk and take her toy away.  But it's still cute.

Stealing toys is a thing around here.

It's a wonder why she doesn't fall down the stairs.

This is not my dog, but it was clear he wanted to be friends.

their suspicions were confirmed muahahahaha

Last week's storytimes were a success! I took a couple days off work, so when I looked back at my storytime notes to jog my memory, I was surprised to see only one thing.  After my storytime the librarian at the desk (who is a little older than me) was helping a patron she clearly knew.  As I listened to their interaction I was flabbergasted to learn the patron was her second grade teacher!  Isn't that the best thing ever?  

As you can see the best thing about storytime wasn't actually storytime. 😂

Looks like I needed to write a few more notes!   

My first traveling storytime went very well.  I was a little concerned about doing a storytime in the play area because of distractions and having my stuff on their level.  I kept everything contained in my bag, with the exception of my ukulele, which was on a stand, and there was only one grab for the ukulele.  That's it!  All of the furniture had wheels, so it took only seconds to set up the space.  About halfway through a few kids did wander off to explore things in the play area, but I feel good any time I can hold their attention, even if it's just for a book or song.  I just didn't want all the toddlers conspiring together and toddling off in revolt when I hit my first perfectly-off key note.

I don't use puppets every week, so last week was a little special.  About half the kids at the first storytime looked at me like I was crazy.  To be fair, I was not their usual storytime lady, so I had some puzzled looks for most of storytime as the group tried to size me up.

When I brought out the puppets, their suspicions were confirmed muahahahaha.

Half the group, however, were appropriately spellbound by my puppet friends.  A couple grownups had a nice chuckle listening to me caw to the melody of The Wheels on the Bus.  I practiced I swear!  So much so that Robert was considering a separation.  There's really no pleasing way to caw and sing at the same time though - the crows in the tree go CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW all day long.  You give it a try and see if you don't burst out laughing halfway through.

During my regular storytimes at my home branch I had a much better reaction to the puppets.  It felt like my crowd was thinking, "It took you long enough! We knew you had puppets somewhere!" 

I messed up a little on the ukulele at the branch I travelled to.  I was weirdly nervous, and there were a couple times the ukulele kept going even though my voice stopped or I kept singing even though my ukulele stopped. Each time it happened I just feigned puzzlement.  No idea why the ukulele stopped working folks.  No idea why I'm not still singing.

It's a wonder I can put one foot in front of the other some days.

One of my books was received so well I think it deserves a nod.  It's called, Knight Owl.  Check it out if you are in the mood to make a lot of whoosh and whoooo sounds.

Here is my traveling storytime bag.  I was too excited to make any kind of reasonable or normal face.  

Here is a peek at all the cool pockets in the bag.  

Cicadas

Thanks to Rue Scribe for publishing my poem, Cicadas.  I write and read a lot of small poems, so this small corner of the web is a special place to get lost for a little while.

Gushy Storytime Joy

My second week of storytimes went really well!  I was having an awkward day and I was a little bumbly and wordy, but I don't think anyone noticed.  I also think it was a universally awkward and bumbly day.  

In my first storytime I had a toddler who just wasn't having it.  He kept hiding behind me and underneath my a-frame Magnetic board rolly cart (with wheels that locked).  He was also a shrieker who let out random piercing shrieks every now and then.  His grown-up was giving 110%, and the other kids were very much engaged in the storytime. So we carried on.   

My current storytime plan is still holding strong, and I'm just so stinkin' thrilled.  I am officially giving a more organic storytime, riding the waves, and changing things up when needed.  This approach has allowed me to be more present, engaged, and relaxed.  I'm proud of where I'm at in my storytime journey.

Favorite moments:

• Thanks to Robert, I went rogue.  I am all about following rules, but we've had a rush of patrons this season, and we've had to turn patrons away for our storytimes these first two weeks.  Currently we give two back-to-back storytimes at my branch.  It's the same storytime, but because we cap our storytimes at 24, it gives patrons two opportunities to make it.  I told Robert about the issue of turning patrons away, and he suggested a third storytime if there were people we turned away for the second storytime.  Because I try not to plan anything after storytimes, this was a surprisingly simple solution I didn't think of.  I talked to our wonderful librarian who covers the desk during my storytime and she was all for it, even coming up with a hand gesture she could give me through the window so I knew to be ready for a third storytime.  I was full my first two storytimes and had 16 in my third storytime.  Our system worked beautifully and two kids from the earlier storytimes came too.  One family came to my first and third storytime, which I think says a lot about how wonderful our space is.  The little girl actually approached me after my first storytime on the first week of storytimes and asked me if she could come to the second.  We were full of course, and I had to turn her away, even though she did such a wonderful job asking me.  Her mom handled it beautifully, and they both came back this week and were able to come to two storytimes.  I also made sure to let the third storytime know that I couldn't do it every week.  

• Because I had a few returning kids in my third storytime, they were excellent helpers and leaders because they remembered some of the content.  The best moment happened after our two beginning songs.  I reached for the first book, and one of the returning kids squealed when she saw it.  She was so excited to hear it again.  

• When we sang the song about waking up our ears, noses, etc. one child suggested our bottoms.  And then he didn't dance with me.  So I called him out on it.  And I got a little giggle.  We also woke up our bellies and cheeks, which was hilarious, because both are squishy and not really their own thing like arms or legs.  How do you wiggle your cheeks?  We had a good laugh trying.  I almost feel like I need a tool belt that has bottles of hand sanitizer and hand wipes, but I'm not sure about the optics of this.  

• We sang our second book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.  The first crowd sang it loudly and beautifully with me, and that's a moment I'll carry for awhile.  

• There was a dad in the third storytime who began the storytime playing on his phone.  By the end of the storytime he was singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes louder than anyone in the room.  

Between all three storytimes, we read all three books and did every song and activity, including my back-up material.  It's nice to see all that planning and practicing really get some use.  Any time I have less than 30 minutes but more than 15 minutes I pick up a storytime book or my ukulele.  I've come to appreciate this time, and it's been a surprisingly good way to reset between larger things going on during the day.  And I get to see this effort and peace (and sometimes moments of hilarity when I'm learning something new) reflected back to me each week. I'm a part of other people's joy, and they are a big part of my joy.  

Next week is my first week giving storytimes at two branches, my home branch and a smaller branch that's actually closer to my home.  One of our beloved youth librarians moved away, leaving a vacant storytime position no one can ever fill.  But I am looking forward to a completely different storytime crowd, plus I will be giving the storytime in the play area rather than a conference/meeting room.  Will my ukulele and I get kicked out for being too loud?!?

I am also bringing out some puppet friends this week. I've been practicing with them and also came up with a cute way to transfer the puppets between branches.  One of the differences between doing a storytime in a room versus a play area is that I won't have a lot of places to put all of my gear.  So I've been figuring all that out.  There may be pictures with next week's storytime post if all goes to plan.  Heck, even if it's a disaster I will probably share too, because I find disasters irresistibly funny sometimes. Especially when they involve puppets.  

Just as I Begin

Thanks to The Loch Raven Review for publishing my poem, Just as I Begin.  This is my second poem I've written about treadmills that has been published, so I am now wondering about the beauty and wonder of treadmills.  Also, how many treadmill poems are out there? 

an awkwardness fueled by inspiration and enthusiasm

This week has been bananas, and I'm taking some much-needed time to pause and reflect today.  

We've been making arrangements for Robert's grandma, Carolyne, which has been tough, but I also think it's been cathartic for Robert and his mom, Audrey.  We've had some family time with extended family, which has been nice.  Heck, we even played Apples to Apples last night, which Robert and I haven't done in years.  Games that involve more than two people have completely gone out the window since the pandemic.  

It was also one of the craziest work weeks I've had in a long time.  Though I tried to schedule booktalks at a local middle school during a different week, it just couldn't happen due to scheduling.

So that's how I started the week.  I thought they went really well.  We had some engaged kids and two of the five classes were super into reading for personal pleasure.  The teacher also did something really cool that I haven't seen at booktalks before.  She gave each class some time at the end of our presentation to come up and look at the books we brought and ask questions.  As an introvert, I totally respected this and saw more kids write down titles at the end than they did during the booktalk.  I've been wondering if there's a way to incorporate this idea into future booktalks.

There were also moments when I recognized my own awkwardness and saw that the kids noticed it too.  The teacher also brought out a microphone, which was a first for me.  I thought I was projecting enough and though I'm in my thirties, I felt some embarrassment when she asked us to use it.

I have really good days where I feel connected to the world, and I have days where I awkwardly stumble through my interactions.  Whether it's a good day or an awkward day, 90% of the time I am wholeheartedly enthusiastic.  When I told Robert the booktalks went really well, but I was also struggling with the awkwardness and felt embarrassment about the microphone, he said something that has really stuck with me.  He said, "Don't undervalue your enthusiasm."  

I am not one for pep talks in the mirror, but anytime I felt inferior or I wasn't the best person for whatever task/program I was doing this past week, I thought about what Robert said.  And it helped me fluff up just enough to keep going, even when my voice was stuck in my throat or I was (enthusiastically) singing the wrong lyrics to a new storytime song.

And my life isn't about focusing on my moments of blunder.  Really, if I take a breath and pause, I can usually remind myself why I'm here, which is to observe and soak up the beauty of others.  And the reminders were everywhere this week!

I can't tell you how many times I've been inspired this week, but it's completely overwhelmed me a few times.  

This past week was also our first week for winter/spring programming.  We took a three-week break over the holidays.  This week was my first winter/spring storytime and my first ever in-person book club, which was a tween book club.  Bananas!

As always, the first storytimes had a lot of ups and downs.  Though it was only a three-week break, it gave me an opportunity to reevaluate my storytime plan, and I made a few changes.  I practiced those changes any time I had 15 minutes to spare (and even gave up some of my precious reading time), and I still made a couple mistakes.  That was tough for me, but the mistakes were small and patrons were still ecstatic and having a great time.  The good news is that the plan worked.  Unlike most past storytime plans, I won't be making any changes for next week.  I nailed it.  I love it when hard work pays off and I've also been observant enough to figure out what kind of hard work I need to embrace.

Here is my plan with the things I changed since last season highlighted.  If anyone wants specifics, just let me know.  

Hello song: Good morning to you (to the tune of Happy Birthday).  It's different than fall, but just as easy, and there's still an option to sing names if kids want to.   

Wake Up song. This is a quick song to sing about waking up different parts of ourselves without getting too crazy, and kids can help me pick out what we wake up (hands, feet, etc.).

Book #1

Fun but not-too-crazy activity relating to our book theme each week.

Quieting Down Meditation (only if the activity ended up being crazier than I realized) 

Book #2 

Shaker Eggs/Scarves or the Parachute (if there aren't any babies on the floor or older patrons who've worked hard to get comfortable or are sitting in a chair)

Two Songs with Shaker Eggs/Scarves/Parachute

Quiet Song 

Book #3 (if we have time)

Goodbye Rhyme Magnetic Board Activity (if it's not too crazy and I have older kids who can be helpers)

Goodbye Song: The Goodbye Train is Leaving (to the tune of She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain). This will be a hit once we get it down.

Stamps (I forgot to do stamps after my first session, and it's surprisingly one of the best ways to engage with patrons) 

I also had a parent who took what I said a couple times during storytime and said it in a better way to her toddler.  I learn something new every day at work, and sometimes the things I learn impact others even more than myself.  For example, when I asked the kids to cross their arms and hold the parachute, this parent said, "crisscross."  Simple!  Obvious!  Wonderful!  Another time, when I asked the kids to gently toss their balls onto the parachute, the same parent told her toddler to "roll the ball onto the parachute."  Oh man, was I taking notes!  After storytime, I asked myself, "how do you still not know all these things?!?"  And then I remembered what Robert said about undervaluing my enthusiasm, and I felt comforted by that.

I also had my first tween book club this past week!  It was on the day of the first long and inspirational selection meeting for the library's teen literary magazine.  The meeting was a little long for me, but not for the teen editors who are the decision makers for the magazine, from everything to the content that goes into the magazine to how the magazine looks.

This is my first year on this committee, so I am definitely getting more out of it than I am contributing to it.  The teen editors for the magazine are thoughtful, articulate, and passionate about their roles.  They looked through the first two hundred submissions and plucked out the first 20ish acceptances.  We have another meeting where they will pluck out another 30 or so from 200-300 submissions.  It's incredible to watch them present a poem they think should go into the magazine, explain why, and listen to the comments from other editors.

What the heck was I doing during this meeting?  Inexpertly helping with the Submittable side of things along with three seasoned staff members who have been very patient with me while I learn Submittable and all the ins and outs of providing support for the teens.  I left that meeting feeling so jazzed up about life and headed directly to tween book club.

And I was blown away again.  I had seven tweens, 9-12, and we started the first tween book club by talking about favorite books we wanted to share (rather than discussing a book).  I wasn't sure about this book tasting idea.  I thought for sure I was going to be the only one talking the whole time, but I was so wrong!  These kids were so excited about reading and had much to share.  And they also had much to say about each other's books.  

When we started working on an acrostic poem activity with a favorite book title, they did not silently work on their own poems.  Oh no, not this talkative bunch.  They jumped in and helped each other out.  The only staff involvement on my part was making sure everyone was heard.  And surprisingly enough, they asked me questions too every now and then.  I'm always impressed when kids do this.  It's a skill that some adults I know struggle with.  But when they started talking about their pets, for example, they not only asked me about mine, but also what kind of dogs I have.  Amazing, right?  I'll admit it - I was nervous about this book group, mostly that no one would show up and if anyone did, they would be super quiet.  I'm thrilled I was wrong.  My plan for the tween book club was to have it divided up into a discussion and craft/activity to go along with the discussion.  I think these kids could spend the whole hour talking about books though!

Here is a picture of the books we talked about.  One of our teen volunteers helped me set up the room and run the first part of the book club.  She's a super shy teen volunteer, but she did a great job.  Eventually the kids took over the board where the teen volunteer was carefully writing down titles.  

So, crazy week, right?  Well, I have one more thing to throw at you.  I haven't said anything because of my fear of failure, but I started graduate school last week too.  Holy shit, right?  It doesn't officially start until next Wednesday, but I had an orientation and all my coursework dropped, which meant we could start working on it.  I haven't been in school in over ten years, and as much as I help patrons with their computer needs, I am sometimes hopeless with my own.

Thankfully, I chose to only take 5 credit hours this semester so I can ease back into the school mindset without drowning *crossing fingers*.  I don't have a focus, which is one of the reasons I chose the school where I'm getting my degree.  They don't require it.  My plan is to take whatever electives look interesting.  One of my electives this spring is time management (LOL 💩😂) .

I also don't have any plan to change my current job.  This may sound like a lack of ambition, but it's contentment.  I have crazy weeks, but I love the holy heck out of my work and life.  Kind of a weird but good time to toss something else onto the fire, huh?  If I get this degree, I will have options and we never know what paths our lives our going to take.

This morning I finished up my first assignment and submitted it.  It is also my day off, so I am pausing to reflect, and not let all the wonderful (though sometimes stressful) moments of the week pass me by.  Most of the beauty, as it so often happens for me, came from observing others in their moments of grace, composure, cleverness, and thoughtfulness.  Being in a position where the door to inspiration and beauty is always open is not something I ever take for granted.  

I race home to share it with Robert, and I also want to share it with the world and myself.  Especially on those awkward days where I'm enthusiastically bumbling my way through life.

reviews

I haven't had much time or brain space for most things right now, but I've been fortunate to get lost in a few great books recently.  I'm always working on creating and maintaining lists for patrons.  This is one of my favorite things to do when I need some peace time at work, and I try to read all the books on my lists.  Recently I've been working on lists about listening, transitioning to a big kid bed, and early readers.  

Unrelated to lists, I recently stumbled across Bethan Woollvin, and I will never be the same.  She's brilliant.

And just this week I gave booktalks to a middle school, so for the past month I've been trying to find a couple new books to add to the books I bring.  No such luck, but that's the reason I picked up Keeper to read.  I thought it looked like it had middle school/high school booktalk potential.  It doesn't, but it blew me away.  It was a happy little detour from teen books!  

Big Kid Bed by Leslie Patricelli (Board Book)

I love the solutions to common fears about transitioning to a big kid bed. Too much room? Add some plushy friends! Worried about tumbling out? Encircle the bed with a pillow wall!

Hansel & Gretel by Bethan Woollvin

Deliciously morbid with excellent illustrations and a brilliant twist on the original fairy tale.

The Keeper by Kelcey Ervick

An unusual blend of memoir and history that centers mostly around Ervick’s passion for soccer and how soccer has shaped her life. The layout of this memoir is splendid. It’s a mixture of art, photographs, old diary entries, and ephemera, which Ervick blends together seamlessly. I love the extended Cardinal metaphor, how the characters on the cover of the book were slowly revealed, and the constant introductions of incredibly inspirational women over the years. This will be one of those special books I buy and read constantly whenever I need a little boost of awesome.

Air by Monica Roe

Grade: 4-8. Emmie is a go-getter, has strong friendships with a small group of kids, and is a complete daredevil. Her dream of one day becoming a wheelchair motocross champion requires many things. Most importantly, she needs an expensive wheelchair to practice and compete with. She also needs her Dad’s support and trust. There are too many things to list, but Emmie isn’t the least daunted. She also already has the most important things – guts and tenacity galore. I was so impressed with Emmie and her best friend, Ale and the ingenuity they used to raise money for their endeavors. Though Emmie isn’t super into sewing wheelchair bags, I appreciated her foray into snarky bags. Both Emmie and Ale have really fun and interesting passions. Their passions are a little terrifying for a cautious soul like me, but that’s why I read! I enjoyed the characters, watching Emmie’s character mature and flourish, and most importantly, I loved the twist at the end. I knew something was up, but was still surprised and totally thrilled when it happened.

Surprised

Thanks to Pennsylvania English for publishing my poem, Surprised.

Look at that cover!

Carolyne

Yesterday morning Robert's Grandma passed away.  

Wednesday was rough.  She fell twice but bounced right back each time.  Thursday was a great day for her, and she only needed help three or four times Thursday night.  Because she fell Wednesday night, Robert made the tough decision to raise the side rails on her bed before we went to sleep Thursday night.  The last time she woke up Thursday night, which was actually 4:30 Friday morning, she was rattling those rails.  Robert said she told him she wanted to be free.  He stayed with her until she fell back asleep and Robert and I went back to sleep until 6.  When we woke up she was gone.  I like to think she slipped away while Robert was out there with her.     

Bittersweet

A regular came into the library today and as usual, dumped a handful of candy on the desk.

"For you!" she exclaimed.

And, just like our other interactions, before I could say thank you, she loudly shouted, "Don't eat it all at once or you'll get fat!"

Margo the Starfish

This is how Margo has been sleeping at night.  I've attempted to capture it many times, but it's too dark and/or I'm too squished.  Finally, y'all can see how a Margo sleeps in the wild.  

Which Santa is the real one?

A face only a Grandma Carolyne can love

 What oh what is Goper saying?

in all her drooly beauty

One of the ways I know I'm doing something right with my life is when Goper is so happy she starts drooling. We've called it the 'drool factor' with all our furry loves. The last couple days Margo's drool has been top notch.