A Year of Being Kind blog – Tuesday, April 29, 2014
A Blue Day—Can I Be of Service Then?
The day did not start out blue. Certainly not! Today was Tuesday, the day for me to read to the four and five year olds at the preschool where I work. I brought two of my all-time favorite picture books with me: Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, and Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. The children were fascinated by the wonderful illustrations, and the gentle lilt of the poetry in Ms. Aardema’s book reached out to me again. I was reminded of just how I used to read the book to my children and to their preschool and kindergarten classes.
I do enjoy reading to children—‘doing’ the various voices and making the words and pictures come alive, as best as I’m able.
So, that was fun! As I’ve mentioned before in this space, small children can be instant smile producers. But I needed to do some additional computer work. I had a certain amount that I set for myself to accomplish today. As I sat in my office in the church, the rain pelted against the windows. The sky turned dark for a while, although it lightened and brightened up by later afternoon.
But as it got darker and darker, so did my mood. It’s a challenge to stay upbeat when the gray day is coloring my mood and feelings inside. I needed to do some more preparation for the article I am writing, so this evening was another trip to the library. Since the afternoon had been low-key, even subdued, I was not the most talkative and bubbly.
Among the things I needed to check was a newer reference book, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (5th Edition). First, just finding it in the reference section was a trial. Talk about playing Button, Button! Who’s Got the Button? (or in this case, Who’s Got the DSM-5?)
Finally, success! I located the book, and took it over to one of the copy machines. Time is ticking away. Accordingly, I began systematically copying the sheets. It was going well—until I got to the twentieth page. (Yes, I needed to copy about twenty-five pages, as a resource for the article I am in the process of writing.) Except—I couldn’t get the copy machines to work. At all. And then, I finally finished copying.
Ever have a day (or an evening) when things just didn’t work the way they are supposed to work? Yup. That was me. Padding around the reference section of the library, searching for the needed book. And then, I went to the first machine. “Out of Order,” was what it said. I made a little face of displeasure! I went to another copy machine. Only almost done when—the paper got stuck. Not once, twice, but three times. Ggrrrr!!!
I started to feel like one of the characters from a screwball comedy, except I did not find things particularly funny. Finally, I went to a third copy machine on another floor. Success—again! The only reason I mention this trial of minor proportions is because the library employees were—without exception—friendly, courteous and helpful. Even when my life circumstances were tedious. Even when it seemed like I would never get the needed pages copied.
So, thank you, library employees! I appreciate you all. It’s so pleasant to have someone give excellent service to me or to any of my family. Yay, library staff!
@chaplaineliza
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