Things were so different not that long ago...
Not even two weeks back I was wishing our student employees in the Referral Processing Area (RPA) a good Spring Break. Fast forward to today and so much has changed in every facet of our lives that one may be forgiven for checking if their head is on straight. Our new normals change every day and every hour.
On Monday evening, I prepped RPA (the area I oversee) for an extended shutdown of operations. The remaining staff shut off all the computers and printers and the conveyor belt went silent. What felt unfathomable was suddenly reality in these uncertain times, we really were putting a halt to the movement of physical items between libraries within our system. A lifeblood of our Resource Sharing operations was grinding to a halt...
I know I speak for a majority when saying that this pandemic has shook life upside-down, thrusting us into situations that many were unprepared for. Even if you may have foreseen the current climate back when news of this virus broke months ago, living in the situation as the crisis evolves around you is a wholly different reality that almost none of us can say they've experienced before.
We are now all adjusting to work-at-home initiatives against the backdrop of this. We may have loved ones who are more susceptible to this virus. We may have loved ones providing essential services and have no choice but to be on the front lines, dealing with stress they never could have imagined their occupations would encounter. We may have "little" loved ones who look to us to provide guidance and direction during this time. Every person's situation is unique to them, and it is all new, unexpected and challenging in its own ways - but I am sure we are all leaning on our closest people just a little more these days.
Grace will get us a long way as we continue to keep the engines of Minitex running as best we can in these unprecedented times. Be good to each other and take heed to the warnings so we can all stay safe and healthy.
