Saturday, January 24, 2009
Since we are still in the first month of 2009, let me start by saying, “Happy New Year!” As we welcome 2009, we also bid farewell to 2008. We’re beginning and we’re ending. We’re embracing and we’re letting go. We’re saying hello and goodbye. Here we are again at the changing of the annual guard.
As each new year approaches, there always seems to be something that tiptoes up, taps me on the shoulder and whispers, “remember, remember”. And remember, I do. I remember and remind myself that life is all about movement and an amazing sense of flow that somehow simultaneously looks forward and backward. And the older I get, the more I realize it can be no other way despite how I feel about that reality at times.
That’s right, I’m not always comfortable with this grand inevitability. Those who know me well would certainly be the first to say that “letting go” is usually quite a challenge for me. I’m not always (ok, often) comfortable with the unknown. I like order, predictability and a calm sense of logic (like any good librarian). Yet, the older I get, the more I realize that life is rarely so neat or tidy.
So what do I do about that? First, I try to remember to just breathe. Just breathe. I also try and remember the words of my grandma so many years ago – “You can’t ever say hello if you don’t say goodbye.” As a young girl, that made little sense to me. Now, as a fifty-two year old woman, her words sound wise, very wise indeed. They remind me of the equally profound words of T.S. Eliot who said, “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” Breathe. Breathe.
So as I take a deep breath and embrace this new year, I am saying farewell to 2008 with a profound sense of gratitude. What a year it was! Both professionally and personally, I was given many opportunities to get out of my comfort zone, grow and breathe. This even included being appointed as the Interim Library Director in April. And now, ten months later, I can say, “I did it!” I was able to do it because of the tremendous support and assistance (and good humor) of our incredible library staff and the strong leadership (and patience) of our library board members. And lest I forget, I also did it with the gracious help of key people at City Hall who helped guide (and forgive) me when I needed it. (Thanks Glenn, John, Karen, Troy, Duane and others!).
And now … I breathe again. First, because I made it (as did the library)! Second, because I have this challenging and rewarding experience in my back pocket. Third, because I can now take off “the big hat” and delightfully skip back to the storytime chair and relish every sweet moment with the little ones again. And last, but certainly not least, because I can join everyone on our staff in welcoming our new Library Director, Geraldine de Rooy.
I’m sure she’s been saying a lot of goodbyes as she’s left Kelso and made her way east to the Palouse. And with all those goodbyes, it’s now time for hellos. So, please stop by the library and say hello to Geraldine. We’re very glad she’s here!
Kathleen Ahern is the children's librarian for the Neill Public Library.
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