Suspicious dog

Life goes fast but you grow to be happy and loved

The Healing Library is Long Island Bound!

The Healing Library is hitting the road again! This time I’m traveling to Long Island, NY to give not one but TWO talks on The Healing Library and will have one of the kits in tow so all you New York librarians will get a chance to paw through it and really get a feel for what the kits are like when assembled in their full glory!

On Tuesday, May 22nd I’ll be talking with librarians in Nassau County from 9-12 at the NLS Children’s Library Meeting. After that I’ll be taking a little drive over to Suffolk County where I’ll get to hang out with Suffolk Cooperative Library System folks and do it all again from 2-4pm. I’d love to meet you face to face and get you a chance to interact with a kit in person and hear about your communities. In addition I’ll be giving out any needed hugs after both workshops.

BONUS!!!! I’ll be giving a second talk in Nassau County the following day, Wed. May 23rd, from 9:30-12:00 at the NLS YA Librarian Meeting about utilizing Design Thinking in teen and tween programming and an overview of my book. The Nassau Library System will be doing a giveaway of 5 books on the spot or you can order a copy of the book for 10% off here! Score!

Bowie Blast

Toasters?

Alpine Hat Found

Price of Wales

Misread at my local grocery store.

The Healing Library in InfoToday!

What an amazing week I’m having.

The husband and I changed the hill in front of our house, planting a DOZEN azalea bushes which should provide us with a wall of flowers for years to come. (Did you know I was a landscaper for years?)

The husband and I also went out and got my Christmas present now that Spring really seems to be here – a kayak so we can spend this Summer out on the water as much as possible! (Did you know my undergrad is in Adventure Recreation?) It’s also a fabulous object I can acceptably put stickers all over as an adult…

Finally, my interview about The Healing Library came out in InfoToday’s April issue! While it’s not one of my longer pieces it felt very personal. In part because Justin was the one interviewing me (and he always seems to get to my emotional core) and in part because now that the project has been live for 6 months I’ve had time to bond with it even more.

Back to the emotional part – Some of you who are closer to me know that my last few years have featured the deaths of a number of people who were important to me. Even as a person with a relatively large amount of privilege I found navigating all that death to be confusing. I wound up participating in some unhealthy behaviors and had to do some searching for a set of healing strategies that would work for me. After, I felt a strong desire to share some of those strategies and the fact that healing can be mix-n-match for each of our needs with others. I think because of all those experiences the writing was more tender and considerate than it ever could have been before.

The bonding I’ve been experiencing with the project has a lot to do with the fact that launching felt a bit like sharing my “baby” with the world, but now that baby is growing and changing. The team has been talking about potential ways to move forward but I know it takes a village to raise a child so I’ll soon be asking for your feedback.

I’m getting ready to talk to more people about The Healing Library at next week’s CLRC Webinar and can’t wait to share our story, the Social Emotional Learning benefits of The Healing Library, and to hear from others about what direction they think the project should go moving forward.

If you want to read the article go ahead and subscribe to InfoToday! If you can make it to the Webinar go ahead and register! In the meantime, do a little something extra for your own well being today. Take a little walk, turn off the TV and put on some soothing music, take time out for a bath, whatever gets you more in touch with you.  You’re worth it and the world will be better with the best version of you in it! (I’ll be baking some cookies and watering my new azaleas!)

But are you REALLY sure, Mr. Crabs??????