This year, on top of the usual candy selection, our kiddo came home from trick-or-treating with stickers, pencils, a popcorn snack bag, a hostess cupcake, and a banana dressed like a mummy. It was the most diverse bag of treats. The only one I, as a mom, side-eyed was the GIANT pixie stick. Here's what else made me smile this week:
0 Comments
I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently.
*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org
I will not be in the office for Halloween this year. It's one of my work from home days. But I've prepped a plastic pumpkin of treats for my colleagues to put out at the Reference Desk. It's a little thing, but our students love it. Also, I took feedback from the first year we did this and broadened our offerings beyond chocolate. Here's what else I'm working on:
This week ended with a lot of unplanned solo parenting. Kiddo has been good but it's still tiring. Thankfully, we had stuff already scheduled for this weekend which is helping fill our days. But, tonight, I am going to pour a glass of wine, read some articles I've saved, and zone out to football. How do you recover from a long week?
For the first time in weeks, our kiddo slept 11 hours straight. That means I got a full night's sleep. I almost forgot what that felt like. It was lovely to wake up fully rested. Here's what else made me smile this week:
House of Earth and Blood Sarah J. Maas I picked up this absolute door stopper of a book a few days ago. The first 100 pages have been a struggle. It's not that the story is bad. I love Maas's fantasy worlds. There is just so much lore and world building happening on top of learning myriad character names. It's a lot to keep track of when you only read in bed at the end of a long day. I've had to reread many paragraphs just to make sure I'm following along. Once I settle into the story, I am sure I will breeze through this one. *Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org I don't know if students are doing more research semester, it it's our embedded librarian program taking off, or simply the influence of our new library space, but I am answering a lot more deep reference this semester. I love it! It's like a treasure hunt where the reward is hearing students say, "This is perfect! Thank you!" Here's what else I'm working on:
A few months ago, we hosted our kiddo's birthday party at a local bowling alley. While it was a roll-in/roll-out event, it was not cheap. Last year, we held her birthday party at a local playground with a splashpad. We had to get a park permit, purchase lots of food, put together goodie bags, decorate, and handle all the set up and break down ourselves. When it comes to kid parties, it seems that your options are cheap but hard or easy but expensive. That got me thinking, why can't the local library be a birthday venue? For a small fee, you book a custom story time based around the kiddo that includes a few books, songs, and maybe a game. The library would plan and provide the materials for that. Then, you wrap up the event with a quick cake or dessert the family provides. That's it! Everyone leaves happy and no one is stretched too thin in terms of money or time. But, I also get why this is not a thing. Libraries already do too much. They are social work centers, healthcare providers, and daycares. They are on the frontlines of the overdose crisis. During disasters, they become hubs for Wi-Fi access and recovery services. And they do all of this with decreasing budgets and staffing. Libraries are places that hold communities together and the staff are tired. They don't need one more thing to worry about. But a parent can dream, can't she? I got a great email at work this week. A person in our marketing office reached out to say that a publication was interested in featuring our library's new family-friendly study space. This new room is my baby and I preened at the message. When they were remodeling our library, a colleague and I strongly advocated for the inclusion of this space. In fact, it ended up in our former office area. Most of our university's students are part-time. A large part of them have caregiving responsibilities. Students have brought their kids to the library (both in our old space and in our temporary space) since they have no other option. As a mom, I get it. It's a heavy lift to try to get work done while caring for a kiddo. We wanted to make things a little easier. While our library can't provide childcare, at least we can make a more comfortable space for our caregiver students and their young ones. The room has adult workstations, a bookcase full of reading materials, a few toys, a kid-sized table and chairs, and beanbag chairs. In the restrooms nearby, we tossed some step stools to make handwashing easier. Many of the items in the room came from the homes of the parents on our staff. We're halfway through the semester and the students who have used the space love it. Even better, they've given us actionable feedback on how to improve the room to better suit their needs. I get a magical feeling each time I see a kid and their parent in there. Have you ever had a moment where you're really proud of something you've done?
Today is one of those days I am grateful for the auto-brew setting on our coffee pot. It's so nice to NOT have to worry about that each morning. Here's what else made me happy this week:
|