Stress - less

September already. It has been another too-busy month. And I've had problems at home -- a pickup drove through my basement wall. Yes, that was me--or at least my house on the front page of the paper. I was not in the house, and frankly I was relieved that the house was not burning down when I had the telephone call from the fire department. But now, a week later, I am in the throes of angst while I try to find a fix for the damage. I keep thinking about the good ole days when the insurance man showed up with the repairman to fix things that were broken. Hmmm.
And it's evaluation time at work. I rather like evaluations. I like the opportunity to look back over the year and see what has been accomplished. I have outstanding library workers, people who give that extra hour when needed without complaint. Librarians are natural care givers, and they want everyone who comes to the library to leave feeling successful -- with a book in hand or finding the information they sought. Still evaluations are time consuming with three steps of time consumption, documents following the chain of command, and a fiduciary responsibility tied to the merit raise system. So evaluations become a stress.
My free time, if you want to call it free, has been interesting too. I worked with the Historical Society to host the statewide annual meeting here in Gillette. I worked with Pearls of the Prairie to submit nominations for the Governor's Arts Awards. I worked with the state library organizations for a directors' retreat and program. STOP. That's enough. No wonder I'm tired this month.
I read where Sarah Palin had asked her local librarian about censorship and banning books. Banned Books Week is the end of September. The librarian was not offended nor worried. It is a frequently asked question, and she accepted the question as inquisitive, not judgmental. It is such a common question that most librarians have a standard answer which includes an explanation of procedures for filing a complaint. Still in this election year, where everything is being scrutinized to death, it is way more interesting to think about than a pitbull with lipstick.
Ah, yes. It has been an interesting month -- and I really am not stressed at all.