The Gremlin

It happened again. A couple of weeks ago I received a call from my local public library that I book I requested via C/W MARS had arrived. I don't remember requesting this book. I have a very good memory and I'm sure I'm not getting senile, so I have some theories on what happened. One is that once I requested the title, there was no reason for me to remember that I had done so. I knew the process would work itself through and it did. My other theory is that there is a benevolent gremlin who decides there are some books I really should read, gets into my C/W MARS account and requests them for me.

This time the title is Inventing the Rest of Our Lives by Suzanne Braun Levine. Being the anal retentive person I am, I'm sure I'll finish this book, but so far it's not striking any major chords with me.
Some of the situations don't really apply to me. I don't have kids so I haven't had to juggle that aspect of my personal life with my work life. And I won't have to contend with "emply nest syndrome" either.

I went through a major work/personal crisis back in my early thirties and another the year I turned 50. I've resolved (at least somewhat) many of the issues Levine discusses.

However, one chapter that I have been dwelling on is called the "Fertile Void". Since I was laid off and am no longer working, I've started to seriously think about what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I've always worked and most of that time I've worked in the library field. Even though I talked about retiring "someday" I always envisioned myself working. Every day that I'm not working in a library is creating more and more distance between me and a library career. (I'm still a Trustee at Hatfield Public Library and on the board of the Friends of UMass/Amherst Libraries - that's different.) I have less and less motivation to read the posts on the email discussion list AUTOCAT or read the electronic newsletter from the American Library Association. It's been weeks since I looked at a library-related blog.

I still check the MBLC job postings, but I'm thinking that my next job will not be in a library. Or maybe I'll actually retire.