On the verge of starting a new school year

I see I am falling behind and the new school year hasn't even officially started yet! We had our annual "All-Calvary Advance" last week, Thursday (17th). It is our faculty/staff orientation meeting for the new school year. New faculty and staff are introduced, changes in the handbooks are passed out, etc. We have been pushing really hard to get everything done we want to before the students arrive in full. (Some have already started trickling in.) I have gotten the daffodils painted in the ladies restroom last week. This week I want to do tulips, but I also have to get signs ready and tables arranged for Registration on Thursday, as I am not here Wednesdays. This has to be all done by tomorrow evening. Tomorrow is our last "work day" but I don't know how much of that type of work (such as the tulip painting) I will have time to do.

I haven't even had time to get orders for supplies turned in, until last Friday. I should have gotten them turned in a month ago. We have a 2-week delay in our approval process so that really slows things down. We have books waiting to be processed and students arrive in 3 days. It will be Sept 1st, probably before I will even get them approved. Then they will still need to be ordered. So the stress and tension is begining to build. Everyone is under a lot of pressure because there is still so much to do. Unfortunatly my impatience with circumstances beyond my control got the best of me today. In my devotions today I prayed that the Lord would help me watch what I say. When I did, the thought crossed my mind, 'I wonder what will happen today to test that.' Well, I found out and I would have to say I did not get a very good grade on the test!

Unbeknowns to anyone here except for one person, I have been considering another position in a public library closer to where I grew up. But I have decided I don't think I will apply. I never relish the idea of packing and moving. But given how close my husband is to retiring (about 6 years), I think it would be best if we stay put somewhat. At least even if we did move, we would do so, only so he could still maintain his current job. It would just be nice if I could be closer to mine. Half way between the two would be better than the way it is now. We could probably shave off 30 minutes of my drive if we made a small move. But for now we are staying put.

In Memory of Barbara Nelson

It was a week ago today (August 3rd) that our friend and colleague passed away, into the presence of her Lord. She was an active member in the Association of Christian Librarians, as well as her church and at Auburn University where she worked. She had a love for the Lord as well as people. She brought laughter where ever she went. Yours truely didn't get to know her as well as we would have liked, but we felt a 'kinship' right from the start. Having lived in Alabama ourselves for 8 years and being a fan of UA, we always enjoyed ribbing her with "Roll Tide." She will be missed by many as she left an imprint on so many down through the years. Our prayers and sympathy go to her family and loved ones.

Barbara, you have now been delivered to heaven, having gone through the endurance of pain for the last time. We rejoice with you in your arrival in heaven and in the family of God and His waiting arms.

Summer's almost over

School starts in 2 ½ weeks.

The ladies bathroom isn’t finished
The periodicals aren’t moved
The storage room isn’t done
The file cabinets never got cleaned out
The computer lab didn’t get moved
Where has the summer gone?

It always happens this way. Goodness, what did I do? Trained a new staff member, substituted for others on vacation, painted, took a vacation, attended a conference, requested books from outside our system (ILL), checked cataloging, wrote reports, put out “fires,” waited on the front desk, answered the phone, assisted patrons, worked in the seminary library, checked time sheets, turned in invoices, downloaded free ebooks, signed and faxed contracts, learned a new courier system, attended monthly consortium meetings, took a one day field trip … Need I say more? OK. Created a new in-house cutter table, wrote thank you letters, vacuumed, did opening procedures, and closing procedures, answered questions (staff and patron), consulted with faculty members, did evaluations, got evaluated, (I’m still here) :-), submitted a revised budget, laminated, processed new ID’s… That’s enough. (Although there is more, I’ll stop!)
Whew! It’s no wonder I didn’t get all my summer projects done! I'll be glad when the students come back. Maybe I can get more done! (ha!)