I Can Leave Chicago Now Because...

I've walked on the grass at Wrigley Field.

Tuesday evening I had the privilege of attending a Cubs game as the guest of my friend Carrie (she is in the center of the picture, I am in the Cubs hat). Carrie was being honored for her amazing non-profit work. Thank you Carrie, thanks GM for allowing us to be on the field with her and thanks to the Chicago Cubs. It was a hell of a game, they won in the 10th!

6,570 Days

My baby is 18 years old today. My son stands at 6'7, has graduated from high school, has a girl friend and is going to college in the fall. Honestly, I don't know when that all happened. I can remember the rush to the hospital in the middle of the night, his impatience to enter the world so quickly that the doctor never made it to deliver him, us being discharged within 24 hours and going home to my little apartment to begin our life together. What an adventure it's been.

I had my son at a young age and although I raised him rather unconventionally I believe that's why we have such a close relationship. We shared a small apartment in Chicago and I worked at home so we were always together. I didn't have any friends with babies so we made friends in our City neighborhood and he was always surrounded by children of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. I never fed him baby food such as rice cereal or crap from a jar, even 18 years ago I was making his food myself and feeding him what he calls my "veggie weirdness" (although he eats every bite!) Plastic pacifiers, bottles and fake food never crossed his lips, I tell people now that is why he is 6'7 inches tall and over 200 pounds. When I was scared that he had a fever or unsure of what to do I read my trusted book, What to Expect the First Year and felt like I had a friend with me telling me that I was doing everything ok.

While we lived in Chicago I had him in non traditional schools, a wonderful preschool near Wrigley Field (an excellent school run by the JCC, a Jewish Center even though he was one of the only non Jewish children in his class because I wanted him exposed to all beliefs), then the excellent Chiaravalle Montessori in Evanston near Northwestern University. As an only child he thrived in Montessori, I believe his experiences there created the social person he is today. I don't believe in mainstream kindergarten so he stayed in Montessori until we found an excellent school system and moved to the area where we live now. Through it all, the moves, my marriages, our travels, he has remained in school with the same kids since he was 6 years old and it's been a joy to watch them grow up together.

As I look back on his 18 years it's like watching a movie. I can dial up a memory and it's there in my mind...his first word, his first steps (he never crawled, just went from sitting to standing to walking), his first trip to the emergency room, the notes he wrote to the tooth fairy, cookies for Santa Claus, his first trip to Disney World, science fairs, his obsession with Peter Pan and swords, his first trips to London, Paris, Ireland, playing every sport ever invented (T-ball, baseball, basketball, fencing, swimming, track and field, football, lacrosse, soccer, frisbee, scuba diving, hockey), first days of school, Halloween costumes, bad dreams, childhood illness, it's all there in my memories.

My Kid is an amazing young man and I'm excited for the next chapter of our lives. My boy is 18 and I'm 40. I guess life begins again. I can't even imagine the adventures we will have.

So Where Do YOU Go First in the Library?

The Library where I now work is a large one, much, much larger than the library where I previously worked. During my first couple of weeks on the job I toured sections of the library I normally wouldn't have browsed through such as the genealogy room and the magazine room. What wonderful things I discovered! Here are a few of my favorites:

Magazines:

Back issues of House Beautiful

Issues of Britain-The Official Magazine

Issues of Hello!, now I don't have to pay $6 for an issue at Barnes and Noble

Genealogy:

What a treasure trove, with hundreds of books and periodicals to chose from here are 2 fascinating ones I picked up and browsed through. Obituaries Knox County 1853-1897 volume 1 and 1889-1901 volume 2. The obits are from newspapers in Knox County, Galesburg Illinois and have been typed out by a genealogist. I have a new found interest in genealogy after reading obituaries like this one:

"Ramp-Benjamin who died last week removed one of the most unique characters of this country, a man of great determination and untiring energy. When he first came to this country he met with an accident whereby he lost his leg. Afterwards he was thrown under a mower and lost his right arm. Most men would have gone to the poorhouse at once. Not he, he kept on. Naturally shrewd he made good investments in land. He raised a large family. He kept acquiring and the number of acres of his estate were counted by the hundred. Those here who knew him say he was worth $100,00, all got together by hard work. He indeed a remarkable character. His home was in Haw Creek township. His wife and eight children survive him, but she is in bad health. March 28, 1891. Galesburg Republican-Register."

So next time you are at the Library, where are you going to go first? The same travel section, popular fiction or new DVDs? Why not wander and see what treasures you can find.

The "Done" Point That Gets You To "Begin"

So I'm a Libra. Now I've never put much stock in horoscopes, I can read any of them and find similarities to myself but I do tend to lean towards a few of the characteristics of Libra. Such as... social, fair-minded, cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, indecisive, will carry a grudge. Perhaps because the sign of Libra is the scale/balance, indecision is a known trait of a Libra. This is incredibly true of me. I abhor any unfairness and unhappiness as a result of decisions which don't benefit all. Hence indecision. Now this doesn't affect my every day life, but major life decisions I tend to weigh and over think. However once I make a decision, I rarely if ever change my mind and I don't look back. For me things suddenly click, and I am often "done". Done weighing the decision, done talking about it, done fighting the inevitable, just done. Life then balances out and things go back to harmonious, harmony makes for a happy Libra. Perhaps this is why I stayed in a broken marriage when my brain knew it was over. My inner voice wasn't telling me we were done, when the head and the heart don't agree you get a mess. Personally I had to wait for the "done" moment and when it happened and the balance returned, well things happened for the better...new life, new home, new job.

This got me to thinking about resources for the person who wants to alter their life, for the procrastinator or the Libra or the person looking for their harmony. So here are a few suggestions that help me:

• The Kind Life. This site, started by the actress/vegan/activist Alicia Silverstone inspires me. When you live kindly, to yourself, to animals, to others you find harmony. Life is good.
  
• Crazy Sexy Life. A great uplifting lifestyle website. I always find something that gets me thinking, moving or something I react too. CSL is from the same gal who created Crazy Sexy Cancer which is an amazing resource for anyone fighting or supporting someone with disease.
• Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, by The Prince of Wales. Yes, it's a book by the future King of England who is a major supporter of sustainability.
• Mars and Venus Starting Over. Yes it's a "self help" book. I think it was the first I ever read. A friend recommended it to me the week I decided I was leaving my marriage. It helped. Great lesson, focus on the love you had, not the loss of it. Believe it or not.
• The Procrastination Equation. Procrastination costs you time, relationships, money...

So go find your happy place and share it with others.

Going to the Show

"Yeah, I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life. You know, you never handle your luggage in the show, somebody else carries your bags. It was great. You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains." Crash Davis from Bull Durham

Well my first week on the job passed by in a rush. The week was a mixture of library tours, introductions, meetings and training all seamlessly organized by my new supervisor. My new colleagues have been wonderful in their welcomes, their patience and their enthusiasm. After 6 years at my former library it's interesting to set up a new office, learn about the librarians who share my work space, start new routines, laugh at new shared jokes and meet new patrons. As I slowly make my way through emails, years of saved paperwork, fliers, folders and files, learn a new catalog, explore new databases and attend meetings in and outside of the library I'm realizing how amazing the opportunity is that I have been given to assist library patrons. I'm working at a 5 star library, one of the best of the best and I'm part of a team, it's frankly just really cool.

As a lifelong library patron I am reminded now that I am working at my home library that one of the greatest things my parents provided for my sister and I was an environment of learning. Being raised by teachers we grew up with the expectation that education was one of the most important opportunities of life and visiting the library was a big part of that. Now as a librarian in a new and much larger library than I have ever worked in before I am learning constantly, it's exhausting but so much fun. It's pretty awesome that the hours fly by and when I finally crawl into bed at night I am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

So with my full days at work and my full evenings working on my new house, it's a busy time and I apologize for not updating my blog as often as I should. I feel like Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham, I've moved from the minors to the majors (The Show).

When 1 Door Closes...

Another opens. Today is my last day at the wonderful Library where I have worked for the past 6 years. As I clean out my desk, hug colleagues who have become friends, get teary eyed saying goodbye to patrons and pack up the gifts, cards and trinkets staff have given me as a goodbye, I'm sad. It's been the best work experience of my life so far and I will miss it all.


So in wrapping up, here are a few of my favorite things:

• The patrons. I've watched pregnant moms walk in, then later I've cooed at their newborns and finally applauded as those children got their first library card in kindergarten. It's been a pleasure to watch families in the Library. More importantly, it's validating that they USE the Library.
• Being a reference librarian. Sure you get the impossible questions, "I need a book... I don't know the title or the author but it had a red cover." LOVED those questions.
  
• Being a technology instructor. I made a difference in people's lives. I taught patrons how to set up an email account, how to surf the Internet, how to apply for jobs, how to connect with long lost family and friends. Absolutely the most rewarding part of my job. It was amazing to be a part of the process. My most recent favorite, helping a young couple who visited the library the week before Christmas last year. They arrived with an elderly man who was the young man's father. They were trying to get to Las Vegas for Christmas with their newborn and the older gentleman but couldn't fly and needed to either take the train or a bus. I showed them resources online and how to buy travel tickets, it took them a few days on the train but they got there. It was the man's last trip to see his family before he died.
  
• Those you work with. What can I say...so many of my colleagues are cherished friends. That won't change.
  
• The Unexpected. The car that drove through the Library windows. The car that drove into the front of the Library. The animals that wandered into the lobby. Rarely dull in a public library.
  
• The learning. Someone has a question about a disease, you help them find the resources to research it. Someone needs tax forms, or permits or do-it-yourself legal documents. Every time you assist a patron you learn a little bit more.

Being a Librarian is the greatest job in the world. I'm sad to leave what's been a fantastic job but so excited to start anew at an exceptional Library.

Gotta wrap things up at work and then it's off to a local bar, my colleagues are giving me a proper send off. Good thing I can walk home if needed, I love a good celebration!

Must Read Book-Saving Audie: A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance

A fellow librarian brought this book into the Library recently and it's a must read. In 2007 NFL quarterback Michael Vick was arrested for running an illegal dog fighting operation. His Bad Newz Kennels were raided and 66 dogs removed from certain death. This book is about 1 of those dogs, Audie a pit bull, his rehabilitation and finding his "forever home".

The book is written for children but should be read by every animal lover. The pictures of the dogs living conditions in the woods behind Vicks multimillion dollar house are heartbreaking, as are the pictures of the scared dogs they found. But reading the story of Audie and looking at the pictures as the dogs get healthy, find homes and help others is amazing.

Saving Audie: A Pit Bull Puppy Gets a Second Chance is written by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent with photos by William Munoz. Great information is included about the Bad Rap organization, the volunteers who evaluated the dogs and found them homes.

For more information on Bad Rap, visit their site: http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html
To read about what happened to the dogs they rescued from Michael Vick, visit here: http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/
I follow a great blog about 2 adopted pitbulls who live in Chicago with their loving owners. The pictures are wonderful and so are their stories about their beloved pets. Also great info on pit bulls and dog adoption. To check it out visit their blog at 2 Pitties in the City.

After serving 18 months in jail, Vick was released and reinstated by the NFL in 2009. He is starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles with a multimillion dollar salary. Shame on the NFL, the Eagles owners and management. Michael Vick is a bad man, one can only hope karma will get him.