Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Something has stirred my father into my waking thoughts more than usual lately, of course Father's Day weekend is an obvious reason, but if feels like something more--perhaps our wedding, now less than 4 months away...? Whatever it is, I've found myself grieving again. I think about all of the things my Dad is missing, how he'd be a grandfather of six (soon to be 7) grandchildren. How he won't get to walk me down the aisle, or ever get to know my sweet, kind, wonderful ChicagoBoy. I keep thinking of C.S. Lewis', A Grief Observed , the solace I felt in reading it upon my fathers death; Lewis and I kindred spirits in our mourning. “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing. At other times it feels like being mildly drunk, or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find ...

<p><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>DComfor</p> Comfort, Deb Talan I am going to tell you one of the secrets of life that you won't understand for yourself until it happens to you. When someone you love dies it sticks in you forever, it is the emotional equivalent to oatmeal sticking to your ribs and your stomach and filling you up all day. I once heard of grief as something like a wave which washes over you, but they always leave out the part about how even though you kick and fight back to the shore you still find remnants of that battle: sand in your belly button and ears and the sore eyes of too much salt water. Grief fills you with this longing that doesn't easily go away, like when y...

Life never ceases to amaze me. This weekend fell together in a most unforseen fashion. Work went well Friday. My Friday friends from the nearby school came and we read books about gardens. Between groups I worked on our VHS/DVD collection. We are taking all the pieces in the collection and relabeling them; i.e. going from "B" for Bambi to "BAM," so that things are easier to find without reading the entire label. I am also relabeling some of the pieces so there is a sense of conformity and a sensical approach to finding things. For example, Elmo movies have been under "E," while the rest of Sesame Street has been under "S." I have gone through putting things in like series all together so it is easier to find things. I hope this approach works. We shall see I suppose. My friend Becca, from my previous life as a farmer, came for a short visit Friday night. She arrived Friday afternoon and we went for dinner with roomie M and her sister JillyBean. I...