Faith-in-Action afterglow: Last week-end our whole church did service projects on Saturday and Sunday rather than attending a church service. I am still basking in the afterglow of the event and the wonderful time I had with other members of the church while we served our community and world. Honestly, if you want to feel better, volunteer.
A "helluva" week (warning whine ahead): my library clerk has been absent from work due to a family emergency for over a week, leaving me to man the library by myself. Last year I was alone for over 8 weeks, so this is not unfamiliar territory, but for some reason this past week was just super stressful. I had meetings two days after school, classes coming in and out of the library, at one point there were four classes in at the same time, and administrators who wanted/needed my help. Thursday evening was Back-to-school night for parents. That is always an additional stressor for teachers and myself. At one point a during the week a teacher came in to chat with me and when I told him what was going on he said, "well, at least you are very calm about it." That was a nice comment but it wasn't true. I was majorly stressed on the inside. Then, to top it all off, my UO Duck football team lost their game against Arizona on Thursday night. Sigh. Fortunately my clerk is due back this week and my schedule is a bit clearer, so I am hoping for a reduction in my stress level.
Hair issue: I need your help. For the past 6 months I have been losing tons of hair. A worrisome amount of hair loss. I've gone to the dermatologist, a cosmetologist, and my regular doctor. I've had my thyroid checked. I am taking daily doses of biotin and other B-vitamins. I've added more green leafy vegetables to my diet. Nothing is working, I am still losing too much hair every day. Do any of you readers out there in the blogosphere have any suggestions of what I can do to help diminish my hair loss. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
Mock Printz list selection is tomorrow: the other high school librarians in my district and I will meet tomorrow to select our Mock Printz reading list for the year. I have read more books than usual in preparation for the selection but unfortunately I don't think I have read the winner. There are lots of good YA books this year but, in my opinion, nothing great. I am looking for something super fantastic like Looking for Alaska, The Book Thief, or Scorpio Races (past winner or honor books) and I just haven't found it. The closest I've come is Crossover by Alexander but I wonder/worry that the book will be considered more for the Newbery Award than the Printz Award because the main characters are middle school students. I'll post our reading list tomorrow or Tuesday, at the latest. Look for it.
Books completed this week:
- Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman...I am going to suggest we select this book for our Mock Printz list not because it is the best book in the world but because it is such an important topic and I want as many kids as possible to read it.
- Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson..written in verse, this book is Ms. Woodsen's autobiography of her early years, which coincided with the Civil Rights actions in the 1960s.
- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander...also written in verse, including some concrete poems. It is a coming-of-age story using the parts of a basketball game to define the rising and falling action. Very clever. It took me less than an hour to read.
Books I'm working on:
- The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd...themes-slavery and abolition. I'm on disc 8 or 11.
- 50-page project:
- Otherbound by Corrine Duyvis---is it fantasy or science fiction? I can't tell yet but I just got to the exciting part and I want to read on. I'm on 60 of 300+ pages.
- The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton---magical realism. I am mesmerized so far and grateful that I just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude so that the magical realism elements wouldn't shock me so much. I'm on page 72 of 300.
- 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith...I was ready to abandon this book until I saw it was on the National Book Award Long-list for the youth category. I think I'd better finish it. I'm on 100 of 300+ pages.
- Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour and I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson are two more books I hope to crack open and read at least fifty pages before the meeting tomorrow.
“History is not just facts and events. History is also a pain in the heart and we repeat history until we are able to make another’s pain in the heart our own.” ― Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings
Why is it that it makes me feel so much better to hear that other librarians are stressed sometimes too? I am with you on the aide who is out. I had one who was out at least one day a week for four years. Exhausting. Wish people knew what we do!
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Sorry to hear about your hair loss. That does sound worrisome but I have no ideas. Unfortunately I have too much hair. Too thick and too much. I hope you come up with an answer ...
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