Cathy the Librarian

I love the kids, teens and summer reading, but boy am I glad summer reading is over! I have to have enough enthusiasm for everyone. Trying to get some people to read, is like trying to pull teeth. Big fat teeth that have roots so deep that they are attached to their toe nails. Who is the big meanie that mad reading so freaking horrible. I’d like to pull a big book shelf full of… anvils right on top of their head.

I was actually able to convince about 300 people to sign up for summer reading, but no matter how many times I mentioned that they could win slices of pizza as big as their head or king chocolate bars, most of the kids didn’t go much farther than signing up. I used all sorts of ways to entice them: the food, prizes… I showed them books about poop for gods sake! Sometimes I feel its hopeless. However I will continue to buy comic books and books about poop, farts and boogers, because I am convinced that some day there will be hordes of children running into the library… not to use the internet to go on their myspace account or to play runescape, but to read all the wonderful books I buy for them.

Okay so its not all that bad. The kids that do participate read tons, but its sad that there are so few kids that see the joy of a book. I partially blame the parents. If kids don’t see parents reading, and if their parents don’t read to them, why should they bother reading? Kids want to do what their parents do. I should know by the way, because my 16 month old son tried to help me clean the toilet by grabbing the toilet brush. EEEEWWWW!

I had two end of the summer parties, one on Thursday for the teens and one on Friday for the kids. The one on Thursday was at Brockport. We had a reading competition between Brockport, Ogden, Hamlin and us at Hilton. Brockport and Ogden read over 2000 hours and even Hamlin read over a 1000. We read 750. PATHETIC! So we had the party at Brockport and two of my teens showed up. It really is sad, but it gave me a chance to share my exhuberance with other teens.

It also gave me a chance to meet the new children’s librarian at Brockport, who just graduated from University at Buffalo. She is super sweet, and I think that I will check on her to make sure that she’s doing well. Right now Brockport is having some staffing issues, and I hope that it doesn’t work on her nerves. I think that her enthusiasm is something that more librarians (besides a select few of us) need to have.

Friday we had our kids’ party. There were about 50 kids and we ate pizza and bagels and I gave them treasures. After they stuffed themselves, we had a very cute lady, Accordian Pat, who came and… played the accordian! That’s right,  I bet you’d never have guessed it! Even some of the parents danced, so I think she was a hit.

Needless to say, I’m exhausted, but happy. Now I get to start all my planning for Fall programs. Yippee!

I don’t usually post this many times in one day, heck I don’t usually post this many times in one week! However this morning I received a call that warranted a post. I actually posted this on another blog, so I’m sorry Adrienne, if you read this, you can stop reading now.

I got a call on the phone from one of those telemarketers and she immediately asked to speak to my mommy. That’s right, not my mom or my mother, but my mommy. She should have just asked to speak to the head of the household or something to save us all our dignity, but that would have been too easy, and I would have one less post.
Then I proceeded to tell her that I AM the mommy. Unless I imagined everything, I was pretty sure that I was pregnant and in labor for hours… usually people that call their mom, mommy haven’t had the experience of childbirth…
Wait! I call my mom mommy.
Damn!
Nevermind.
Anyway, I still have the right to be pretty preturbed. And I was.

BTW, I checked to see that I was spelling preturbed right (which I’m still not so sure of) and the first entry was for the urban dictionary which stated:

someone who is a biatch after being pissed off

“Ms. Hammy was preturbed after I abruptly threw my bumblebee project at her in science class.”

Double BTW The original post spelled science wrong but I decided to change it.

So anyway, after all that she wanted me to take a TWENTY MINUTE survery on grocery stores. In any other circumstance I would have been intrigued, since I have a crazy desire to take surveys… it makes me feel like I make a difference or something. But the lady ruined it for me so I told her no. Besides, I was watching my SON and a cartoon that I just adore on Nickelodeon called Avatar: the Last Airbender. My husband of course says I’m insane and act like a kid, but maybe that’s part of the appeal. 🙂

ten years is such a long time
and has gone by so quickly
it was only yesterday, wasn’t it?
I was flirting
you were shocked
my parents were concerned
and my sisters with their questions

so unusual and so perfect
Marx Brothers movies
Quake matches
and apple pie

I have grown into a woman
with you by my side
and yet
I still feel 17 years old
and silly
when you waggle those eyes

when did we become adults?
how have these ten years
come upon us
suddenly
unexpectedly
like wild fire
catching and burning
everything in sight

what does this mean
to love another
until it hurts
until you gasp for breath

ten years later
and your hands
still tender
still safe

where would we have been
if not together
two people searching
two people alone

everyday life takes hold
grips and strangles
sometimes bickering
sometimes nagging

we are able to conquer all
realizing what love is
more important
more sacred

My ten year anniversary with Jeff! We started dating the summer of my senior year in high school. Plus its our four year wedding anniversary. The reason I remember our wedding year is because we had little favors that said:

Cathy and Jeff
say I do
August 3, 2002

Cheesy but cute.

Unfortunately, I have to work tonight, so we can’t do anything together. 🙁 Funnily enough… or I guess its weirdly enough, we “actually” got married some time in March, because I didn’t want to be off health insurance and my parents couldn’t keep me on theirs anymore. Very romantic, isn’t it? Jeff and I pretend that the March date doesn’t exsist, but sometimes I think about it.

The “wedding” in March was sweet. My parents, his parents, Jeff and I went to our pastor’s house. She had just been meditating a few minutes earlier and when we got there, there was a horrible burning smell in the house. Her cat had flicked  her tail into the candle. Burnt cat fur is REALLY stinky.

Our pastor was very sweet and the whole thing was very nice and cozy… sometimes I think that I liked this wedding better than the big one. Our real wedding wasn’t full of pomp and circumstance or anything, but there were about 100 people, it was busy and crazy, and everything went by in a flurry. Plus those big wedding dresses are hot in the summer!

The Presbryterian service was nice and simple. The choir (which we are members of) sang a beautiful song in the middle. The bridesmaids and I all had sunflowers which were a lovely shade of yellow. At the end, instead of a limo, Jeff tried to fit me into his Lotus Elan, which is quite a small car. It’s not the smallest car in the world, but when you are trying to get all your crinoline into a car that size… well its amuzing for everyone except the person with the crinoline.

We had the reception in Jeff’s parents’ backyard, which was so beautiful. More than I ever had the eye to see. We ate Dinosaur Barbeque… which EVERYONE loved! Much yummier than those pretencious salads with dandelion or boring as macaroni salad, chicken, ziti and sauce buffet. Plus my godmother made the cake and my mother-in-law and the rest of the family made cookies that people could take home.

It was a lot of fun!… and I must say today will probably be very disappointing in comparison.

I love crayons.
I love their smell.
And the way they feel
sliding on the paper.

…

I also love pencils
but I hate when the lead
bleeds onto my hand.

(being a lefty sucks when you use a pencil because it gets all over your hand)

IT WAS FREAKING HOT TODAY!

I don’t know if it beat the record in 1933 – 96 degrees, but with the humidity, it was supposed to be 110 degrees. Yeck.

Can we say… GLOBAL WARMING?

Good night.

a leaf
small and brittle
floats slowly
crumbling
as it passes through
the gentle wind

the earth
grows darker and sparse
unyielding
to the wants and concerns
of people
and of their tears

a cool breeze
shakes the tree
free of their burdens
they look naked
exposed to the earth’s
brutality and wickedness

I wish
I could be
loved tenderly
by a friend

not in a passionate way
but a quiet friendly way
a hug when I cry
a shoulder to lean on
an ear that isn’t ashamed
of what I have to say

sometimes
its hard for me
to even know
what I am thinking

I need someone
who can say
“oh I know what you mean”
and not
just stare at me blankly

I need to be loved
I need a friend

I was googling my name and found an article from a local newspaper that quoted me. Neat!

It’s never too soon to start reading – Westside News

Parma Public Library offers blog site for Young Adults – Westside News

Japanese comic books are the topic of new book club – Westside News
Fascinating, isn’t it?