I quick lie that jumped into my head just days after being hired as librarian was "You're too artsy to be a librarian. You should just try to get an art teacher job, where you belong." I mean, I know how ridiculous that sounds even typing it out. Yet, if you're anything like me you believe endless lies when really you shouldn't. As a 36-year old I am finally starting to call it like it is and look the lies straight in the face and tell them no. Loudly. Sometimes repeatedly!
The truth is I am an artist, true and true. The other truth is that because I am an artist deep in my bones, words, pictures, color, paint, books, lyrics, outfits, food and recipes, music, sounds, and LIFE all show up as art to me. That means as librarian, maybe the words are the paint to my canvas. Or maybe my creative ideas, art, and love of books all collide into something dynamite.
There is nothing wrong with me. I am an artist who is also a librarian. Or a librarian who is also an artist. Either way-I'm not too much of anything. I'm just right.
Also, I spy with my little eye one mailbox I am completely smitten with.
I'm calling this "Letters to the Library." Let's back up a bit though.
This mailbox was first my great-grandmother's. I remember it vividly from my childhood. It had her name painted on the side and we went past it on the way to my grandparents. I remember so many other things about my great grandma too, like her running across the kitchen floor once just to see if she could, her little dog, her smile, and running down the pasture to her trailer.
I got this mailbox at my grandparent's garage sale a couple of months back. My Grandma and Papaw are some of my most favorite people in the entire world. I immediately saw it and thought of my school kids. I adore my school kids. I don't share that often on the web, but it's absolutely true.
When I saw the mailbox I thought of the idea "Letters to the Library". So I set out to repaint the mailbox. Many, many coats of paint later and lots of time, it's finally done. I cannot wait to take it to the library on Monday!
The idea is that students can write notes or letters, or draw pictures and place them in the box. They can write book recommendations, about favorite book characters, ideas for the library, or just a note for the other librarian and I. Sometimes I also plan to leave something in the mailbox for a class and let a student have the FUN of opening up the mailbox to see what's inside.
There is something so magical and exciting about a mailbox, don't you think? This is happy mail at its finest.
This idea to me, is one of the reasons why I'm not too artsy to be a librarian. I'm just right.
I hope you know you're just right too, for whatever life lays in your path.
I love this! What a fun idea for your students.
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired me. When my son was 7 yrs old we bought the wooded lot next to our house. It had a trailer on it that had been removed so it was empty but their mailbox was at the end of the gravel road right beside our mailbox. We took it down & mounted it on the edge of the clearing in the middle of our 2.2 acre wood. We would leave things for our son to find inside it...usually some kind of woodland treasure or nature find.
Now my grandson comes to stay with me two days a week. I think I'll paint the mailbox for him & restart our treasure mailbox. I especially like the letter idea. Maybe I'll write him letters from the woodland fairies....we already look for them when we walk in the woods.