Long Day

My day begins at 5:30. Class begins at 8. We are involved all day long with intense focus and discussions. Lunch flies by. We dismiss at 5, and I hurry to work because I am on the reference desk tonight. The library is busy. Lots of papers are due. There is a flurry of activity to find citations, last minute resources, figure out APA requirements, etc. I field phone calls, emails, IM's, text messages, and in-person questions. Wow. This is unusual for a Wednesday night. There are two classes in the instruction labs, and students from there hit the desk as well as they attempt to connect with necessary resources.

Time flies by. Before I realize it, I am down to the last half hour. Suddenly the Circulation Supervisor asks me if I got the message from the Evening Supervisor. She will not be in. Is it OK to leave 2 students to close? Arrgghhhh! NO. The realization that I will have to stay until midnight after going strong all day hits me like a tsunami. The Circ Supervisor sees my distress. She has just seen one of the staff assistants in the cafe. Maybe he would be willing to work. She seeks him out.

I am drawn into another request for help while she asks around. Between the two of us, we manage to find a reasonable solution. There will be 3 students, none of whom have ever closed, but they have the instructions and a hurried lesson. It is far from desirable. I never got the message from the Evening Supervisor, and I am thankful the Circ Supervisor happened to mention it. Otherwise I would have been called back at closing.

What a disaster that would have been. As it is, the need for reference continues until well after 9, and by the time I drag myself home, I am exhausted. I am not as young as I used to be. Chemo has taken a toll, and I lecture myself about finding a way to get back in shape. Killer days are no longer a snap.