The Curve Ball

Discover Prompts  Day 8: Curve

So “curve.”

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the prompt was “curveball.” As I continued reading and I smiled when I saw the rest of MW’s line. “Life has thrown a big one at a lot of us these days: a curve.”

I was excited when I saw that the Discover page was going to offer daily prompts in April. When I first started blogging a few years ago, I found the DailyPosts and WP Blogging U very helpful.  But alas, I fell off the blog wagon awhile back.  This year I don’t have the energy for NaNoWriMo and/or the A to Z challenge.  It has nothing to do with COVID 19.  Life happens, and my creativity is “Meh.”

Truth be told, I’ve struggled with these prompts this time around. The prompts and alternate ideas are creative and engaging, but I spend all day churning ideas in my head that don’t get to my page. 

For example, prompt # 2 Open, brought me to the Grand Canyon, but that trip came with ghosts of the past.  I saved the essay for another day.  Prompt # 6 Hands. brought me the question, “what is the sound of one hand, clapping?” It was one of those days that I started to do research to make sure the riddle was not about one hand slapping.  That post didn’t even make the page.  I was going to tie that prompt in with # 7:Below.  A suggestion on that day was, Think about the last time you were emotional — angry, or elated, or sad, or nervous. What lay below, feeding that emotion?  I was not ready to go there on day seven.

Here I am today, talking about The Curve, with a post I started in March. 

If you’ve read my posts before, you may know that I’ve been working part-time at a public library. I really like the place. We are one of the smallest branches in our county’s system of 10 sites, including three larger regional libraries.  Its hard work and we regularly deal with staff turnover, but we’ve also got a great team of volunteers that come in each day to help.  

I have enjoyed everything about the job.  In shelving books, I often find some treasured tome that I didn’t know existed.  I enjoy people, and actually, my favorite part is dealing with the patrons, especially the regulars.  What a great crowd.  Most are old-timers and have been coming to that little branch for over twenty years. The full-time senior staffers know just about every person by name.  They look forward to seeing them each winter when they come back.  Upon returning to town for the winter, many patrons consider their first stops, the library, and Publix – in that order! 

The staff often know, and most importantly, they genuinely care who is sick, who just got a promotion, took a trip, started a business, or wrote a book.  Some of the elderly and the lonely stop in to read the newspapers or use the public computers. They also come in to connect – that irreplaceable human contact that we all need.   Everyone gets a warm welcome and a free smile.  

Sometimes the place feels as if it were an episode of the sitcom “CHEERS.” The tv show is about a neighborhood bar in Boston.  We don’t serve drinks, but the atmosphere feels similar – friendly and accommodating.   

“Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.” (Intro theme from Cheers.)   

On Wednesday mornings, one can’t help but smile as the children’s laughter, and singing spills out of the storytime space and into the great room where most of the action happens.  There is such excitement when they come to check out the books they picked themselves or have found all the pictures of the scavenger hunt around the library.  They bring the classics – princesses and dragons, dogs and cats and of course tv favorites. I’m hopeful that these experiences will remain stored in their little minds and hearts, as they have remained for me. I still believe libraries are a treasure cove of amazing things and a vital part of communities.

Last month, however, the libraries closed to the public. A few days after that, I made the decision to stay at home. 

The library offered curbside service so that patrons could pick up books or materials that they had reserved before the emergency declaration. We have plenty of e-resources online, but because for some people, the web feels overwhelming, staff is available by phone to assist in navigating the resources. 

Behind the scenes, due to the potential risk of contamination with COVID 19, the library staff was disinfecting equipment and preparing materials to be placed in quarantine.  Because of the life span of the virus on paper or plastic, books, and DVDs can not be put back on the shelves directly.  The library materials need to sit out in quarantine for days.  As I said before, our site is small, and the only place considered available to quarantine books was in the great room in front of our circulation desk.  Due to the health risk involved, and after consulting my medical provider, I made the decision to stay home. 

As more information becomes available, new risk management protocols are in place to keep staff safe and patrons informed.  I tip my hat to those who continue to work for the library patrons in different capacities. I pray for them and their families, for they are part of the remarkable army of unsung heroes we’ve come to recognize during these difficult times. 

Currently, there is no opportunity for me to telecommute. It has been three weeks. I’m not sure where I go from here as there are so many unknowns.  My life right now seems up in the air, but this is not my first rodeo, I will get back to living my true life soon enough. 

As I searched the web for a photo to add to my post today, I found this quote on Google Images.   I think it suits me perfectly.  What do you think?