short staffed? No problem!

I'll bet none of you librarians out there have ever worked in a place that was understaffed!  I'll bet none of you have ever groaned because there was no Young Adult Librarian to help keep your YA room under control.  I'll bet none of you ever said, "Hey, wait a minute.  We don't even have a young adult room."  I'll bet none of you have ever felt jealous of the other libraries that got that building project approved, got that Storycorps grant, got that hot new director/tress who is unstoppable?

Me neither.

So how does one keep leaping when it feels like the organization is limping?????

Light a candle, darling.  Do one thing.  Just one thing.  Do it today.  It does not have to be huge.  You can:

• smile at that patron
• order that book
• set up a staff meeting
• listen to an inspirational tape ( I just pulled one off of our AV shelf.  It's called  Zingerman's Guide To Giving Great Service

Remember, gang.  We are the good guys.  We are the helpers.  Just last night, I helped a woman get her resume printed out for an iterview today.  I helped a guy to print out some info for the book that he just self published.  I told him about Sisters In Crime and that they could help him get the word out.  Small, yes.  But satisfying.  Read more about just one thing here.

Leaping While Limping, Can it Be Done?

Well, it's been a long time since the Leaping Librarian has written in this blog!  I must say, it feels good to be here!  I am writing today about the physical and its relation to the psychical.  This Leaping Librarian has been having back and neck problems.  I know.  It's unthinkable!  It is!  And yet.....I have been to a chiropractor.  I am seeing a physical therapist now.  I just bought myself an ergonomic chair.  It has a high back and a neck support.

The thing is, I have always seen physical pain as an insult, something that must be gotten rid of.  Part of why I stopped this blog for a while is that I developed some sort of repetitive strain injury in my hands.  This happened when I was blogging and fluting alot.  I had been taking flute lessons and had, perhaps unwisely, chosen Flight of The Bumblebee as my recital piece.

Oh, and did I mention, I broke my foot in November and had to have surgery? 

Meantime, my partner has developed Parkinson's disease!

So here is the question for all of us.  How do we keep our leap when we are literally or figuratively limping????

Well, let me just tell you this.  I have a very upbeat colleague who just came to me to tell me that her husband is having a hip problem.  Here's the thing.  He made a joke out of it.  He told her with a smile, "I'm playing the age card."  This colleague and her husband are amazing people.  Their glass is always half full.  It's an attitude thing, dudes.

The lesson.  Here it is.  Things happen.  We may not like it.  We may not want it.  The question for us is this:  How do we deal with it???

I'm a big fan of the work of Byron Katie.  One tool that can be useful during times of physical and/or psychical stress is this:  Be here now.  Remember that when you start saying "this should not have happened" or saying "uh oh.  Now I'm doomed", it is not the SITUATION that is causing the problem.  No.  It is what you are telling yourself about the situation.

Here's what I am telling myself about my physical problems.  They have brought this leaping librarian back into circulation.  This is a good thing since I am a Circulation Department Head!