Summer flash

How many times do we ask ourselves, "Where did the [hour, morning, afternoon, day, week, month, season, year, last decade] go?" It's been two months since I've posted here!

As a new public library director, I've had the pressure of learning new skills on the fly while digging deep into my personal toolbox for adaptive ways to use what I have, both in theory and in practice. Although the little library I oversee has a timeclock (it really does), I work way more hours than I can measure - and those that are tallied are calculated at 10 to 20 hours over the required "full-time" expectation. Well, I guess that's expected, too, but on top of needing to supplement my income with an additional part-time library job in chat reference (no, sometimes being a director doesn't mean earning a salary that pays all the bills), my goodness it's a busy working life I have these days.

The challenge for me is to keep on top of the projects, keep the library operating at a forward pace (not status quo), and keep my health and well-being. But once in a while the pace and pressure get a bit pushy. I've had a couple of nightmares.

A couple of nights ago, I dreamed that it was my turn to carry the rectangular wooden box around. I don't know who handed it to me, but I just knew I had to, that I was selected. The box had a handle, kind of like a tool box but with no latch or opening that I could see.

No matter where I was going or doing, the box and I were to be inseparable. There was a cord or security cord tying me to the box, too. I could set it down when I sat to work, etc., but it had to be by my side. And somehow, as in dreams when there is knowledge but no reason, I knew what it contained.

A small nuclear bomb.

I knew it was going to go off to destroy me sometime in the future. It would not hurt anyone else, just me. My time was coming up.

My only concern was to get everything done, as much as possible, before that happened.

No time to worry about it now...Back to work!