Blog12daysxmas Post 10

Today's Destiny Card is Detail.

Yesterday Miss A and I went to the Bellingen Swimming Pool and spent almost 3 hours there.  I only really wanted to spend 2 hours but Miss A wanted to spend the whole day so I told her we would go to the Library to get some books to get her out of the pool - surprisingly this worked.

So off to the Library we went and up went my blood pressure.  I'm on holidays and I don't want to think about work but of course when you visit work during you holidays you automatically think about work.  And all the work you have to do when you return to work. Sigh!

Once home, and I completed my hour long daily walk, I relaxed and started playing around with our library service Zinio eMagazine subscription and then played around with our OneClickDigital downloadable eAudio subscription, and then played around with State Library of NSW Library PressDisplay online newspaper subscription.

And then Miss A and I went to bed and I read 2 of the books we borrowed from the Library.  I slept well until 2.30am and then thoughts of work came back into my head.  Now don't you hate that?!?

Of course, once I started thinking about work I then had to pull apart every detail and write mental lists and basically work myself up into a state so I couldn't go back to bed for a few hours.

Don't get me wrong, there are some things I'm looking forward to about returning to work for a new year but many others I really am concerned about.

However, I read a blog post or a quote from somewhere and of course I can't find it now.  But it was something about fear and how if we fear something then we will convince ourselves to fear it instead of convincing ourselves that we have nothing to fear.  It may even have been in my stars for the year or yesterday.  Basically it had me thinking that I should not fear what coming back to work has in store for me but embrace it as a challenge and then it won't get the better of me.

I also read an interesting post about blogging: Done is better than perfect (thanks @flexnib).  And this made me think about my own blogging experience over the last few weeks.  There have been times when I didn't feel I had anything to write but then I started writing and found I did.

I have also stopped worrying about how many people read my blog and what they think about what I have shared.  Blogging is a learning experience and sometimes it is just a place to get things out of your head and onto "paper."

For me, blogging allows me to reflect on things whether they be professional or personal.

Blog December Post 20 - Discretion

Today's Destiny Card is Discretion.

When posting to any social media outlet, I am always aware of being discreet.  I try to keep politics out of my posts so as not to offend anyone or perhaps I'm more concerned with how people will judge me - which is a bit stupid because really people have the right (if they are friends with me) to really know who I am.  However, there are just some topics I know not to discuss because my views are quite different to the majority and the topics are sensitive ones that are sure to raise the hackles.

But wouldn't it be a great world if we could all discuss our beliefs and views without fear of argument or ridicule?  I suppose it would make for boring debates, but I have always thought that your beliefs, views and values are your own and you have your reasons for having them, so when discussing them you should only have to justify why you have them not why they are good or why they should be the only right views, beliefs, values etc.

That does not mean I'm not open to changing my views, beliefs, values based on a good reason to, but at the same time, I'm not going to hate someone or think less of them if theirs are different to mine.

I think in the library profession this is important because we are in contact with many different people from different backgrounds and who have different beliefs, values, views - and it is not our role to change them or judge them due to those beliefs, values, views.  In a way, libraries have the role of being the safe place where people can read/find information about their beliefs, values, views without fear of being ridiculed.  Well that's my thought anyway - do you agree?

Well, I am up to day 20 of Blog December and today I am tired - there is only 2 days until I'm on holidays for 2 and half weeks - I can't wait!!  I pray for warm, sunny weather and relaxing times!!

Appreciation

Finally, the final installment of the #blog12daysxmas has finally arrived. Sorry for the delay but I have been in Qld for the last week and my tablet would not let me type in blogger - will have to sort that out.

In this post I'm going to focus on appreciation because most of my other posts have been focusing on negatives, so now for some positives.

After visiting Qld and experiencing the wonderful 35-42'C temperatures - I appreciate being home where today brings us a top of 25'C. It didn't take me long to appreciate where I live after being in Qld a week. I know that there had been some nice cooler temperatures before I arrived but it didn't take long for me to remember the constant sweat of the Qld summer. I used to love it but I must be climatising!! 8-)

It was great to catch up with my family and good friends and I appreciate that they took the time out from their regular routines to make time for me. I wish they could all relocate here but seeing them so few times a year makes me appreciate them more!!

This time last year I was in Qld and I was "stuck" due to the floods. I remember feeling helpless as I wasn't able to assist anyone and I was more concerned with getting home to my husband then hanging around during the clean up. Watching people talking about how their homes and loved ones were washed away made me appreciate my family and friends even more. While it floods often here, the flooding in Qld was much different.

You may have heard about the terrible accident that happened in Urunga while I was in Qld. A B double truck ran into a ute and some houses and killed 2 people, one of them an 11 yr old boy who was on holidays from Sydney. I can not begin to fatham how their loved ones feel but again it makes me appreciate what I've got.

Those of you who are mums/dads will understand when I say that you can spend a lot of time imagining the worst things that could happen to your child(ren). It tears you up and you want to lock them inside and not let them do anything. The fear grips you. But you must let go and let them experience life - including the times where they may experience hurt and pain. I appreciate that so far life has been kind to me and has not let anything bad happen to my child nor my family.

There are many many other things that I appreciate but I will finish by saying that I appreciate those that have taken the time to read my #blog12daysxmas and I hope that my motivation continues throughout the year to continue to blog.