Serendipity?

Yesterday, the address book in my phone disappeared.

9 years of accumulated data - gone.just.like.that.

Was it backed up?

Ah, another in a long list of “to-dos” that have not been getting done.

The excuse?

In short, I am too busy, too stretched, too tired, too blah, blah, blah...

I don’t really believe in excuses.

I screwed up. I admit it. My fault. I will do better next time. I will reevaluate and find...

The solution?

Well at first, I thought the solution was to focus more, work more, hunker down all weekend, try to get ahead, but then I stopped myself.

Okay, Netter stopped me.

Still, I started to take a second look. Maybe there was a better idea.

It starts with a break which fortuitously Netter and I had already scheduled for this weekend, which has a lot to do with why she stopped me. Who wants a stressed out husband on their weekend break right?

Whew...

Also, time for some sweeping changes on my return...

So at 5:30 today I’m unplugging.

Stop gaping. I mean it.

I’m turning off the notifications. I’m logging out of everything. I’m stepping away from the computer and I’m going to try as hard as I can to stay away from my phone.

Netter tells me I need to learn to say no, to learn my limitations, to learn to give myself a break. “You can’t dwell on what you haven’t done, what you haven’t accomplished,” she says.

And she’s right...

I’m burned out. I’m done. I need to step away. I can’t focus. I can’t sleep. I can’t read more than two sentences in a row, or apparently put more than 3 lines together in a blog post.

This is not the way to move forward.

You can’t change if you don’t do things differently right?

I guess we’ll see what happens...

Have a good weekend!

Why I "Really" Support Libraries

Talking with my Dad on the phone yesterday he asked me what was going on politically here in Ohio. He lives on the east coast and seemingly loves to talk politics.

But I don’t. I don’t do public politics. Oh, I vote and I have preferences or parties I prefer and some folks might even know what they are, but outside of maybe 10 or so people that I feel comfortable having that discussion with - they don’t know because I told them. At best, they’re just guessing.

Publicly I preach purple because that’s truly what I believe. United we stand. Divided? Well, I think we look like idiots most of the time.

I try to stick to my guns with this too. It’s just one of those things...

No goofy signs in my yard. No diatribe commercials on my television. If you send me a postcard I keep it so I know who to strongly consider not voting for. If you call me, yeah that seals it.

Recently however, I’ve had to make a couple exceptions to my hard fast political rules. If you know me, you know why...

I placed a sign in my yard last May, August & November for The Southwestern City Schools levy I discussed here, that thankfully finally passed, and I placed 2 signs in my yard this year for library levies both that of the Southwest Public Libraries, Issue 8 and The Columbus Metropolitan Library, Issue 4.

I have the post cards. I even took a couple phone calls. In this case, that's okay.

Now, before anyone even asks let me say that I do not support these levies just because I work at the library. This is not about my job.

What it is about, much like the school levy is the kids. I support things that help children.

Just yesterday I talked to a woman who told me how much she appreciated the children’s librarian who read to her son when he was young and recognized him years later when he visited the library again, and how much that meant to him as well. Children’s librarians in particular are pretty magical people by the way.



(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

While the library provides a slew of services for adults, Job Help Centers, computer and business resources, the list goes on and on - I think that the library’s strongest contribution to the community is what it can do for kids. If you take a look at those kids and realize the benefits they see from the library, how much it means to them and their future,... - you know why this is so important.

Which is why I make the exception in case you don’t know me or didn’t already know...

Children in story time, teens in Homework Help Centers, Latchkey kids having a place to go and thrive after school, a welcome, learning environment that is not the street, where a friendly librarian might even sit down and play a game with a kid who looks like they just need a friend. Hey, I’ve seen it happen.

The best thing?

It’s free.

Okay, the levy might cost the taxpayer a few bucks, the price of a fancy meal perhaps, but to that kid who has nothing else, and nowhere else to go - Free is a pretty darn good price.

If you haven’t already please be sure you get out and vote tomorrow. As a personal favor, and I don’t ask for many, if you live in Franklin County, or you have a library levy in your own area please consider voting yes and making a difference in the life of a child.

Thanks!