As expected, I got up this morning (after not sleeping well), and I felt less anxious than previously, at least to the degree that I could get dressed, point myself in the right direction and be where I was to be at the appointed hour.

I think that my habitual anxiety issues surfaced when I was an undergraduate and had to take multiple choice tests. I never did well, and I never did badly. And I was always there to take the tests.

Lois reading at the first Dr. Suess Saturday

So I was where I was supposed to be. It helps that the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel is now a very welcoming space. Had I left all the boxes of the books in the center area and attempted to distribute them as is, I would still be digging. It was a conscious choice, my deciding to push the guys to build the shelves and my getting the boxes somewhat categorized.

Somewhat. The system isn’t perfect. And the boxes could be better labelled. But there is just one of me, attempting to conduct an orchestra that seems to grow larger and larger.

The Dr. Suess story hour did not measure up, numbers wise. There were four adults and four children present. Lois did a wonderful job reading. The kids, being kids, were jumpy.

What saved the day was the fact that I found a Dr. Seuss game, complete with four boards, and all the pieces you’d want to have to deal with. I set it out and the kids took to it. This gave them something to do beforehand.

One of the kids, the youngest, became restless. I picked up a Dr. Seuss board book and read it to her. It was about the noises that animals make. This was the high point of my day because it was the leap into literacy.

Four adults (this included me) stuck around and talked for a bit after the reading. Once again, I thought the space was inviting, which was why people didn’t hurry off.

After the reading, and after the departure of parents and kids, there was a steady stream of volunteers/visitors. Pete returned with 30 plus boxes of books from Title Wave. Bill brought in a load of books, 23 boxes, from VCRS. Seeing these books I thought – wow – if he hadn’t grabbed these books they would have been recycled because The VCRS Bookstore could not hold this many books.

Toni, who is in charge of the Senior Center reading group, came and got some Dr. Seuss books. Steve and Cherokee, who both live in the hotel, stopped by. Pam came in and cleaned books. And Robert appeared and put a new battery in Pam’s car key.

Me, I just kept working at first putting away all the books that I’d scattered around the room. I then put together Bill’s distribution books, three boxes of fiction, three boxes of nonfiction, and three boxes of kids’ books.

I won’t be hosting any events until the end of October. A good thing. I am going to build in a break from all this.

Next: 276. 10/8/23: Balance