Slice of Life: Library Surprise 30 of 31

"Oh. Cathy, I've got something for you," the library director said in the middle of our monthly trustee meeting.

Uh oh, I thought to myself. He's probably about to bring me tips for writing meeting notes. This was my third month as secretary and I was still getting the hang of it. My notes were likely a little rough.

The director left the room abruptly and returned to place a white envelop on my table. The envelope was taped; I struggled to open it and listen. I had no idea what might be in it. I figured it was something related to the board or the training I had just completed the previous weekend.

Opening the envelope, I felt my heart take a bit of a leap. Inside was a letter from my colleagues. They were making a donation to the library in honor of my retirement. I was caught in a mix between tears, amazement and laughter. This was a clever little move they had made. I didn't have any idea they knew much about my work as a library trustee, but at some point I must have said something that caught someone's attention. 

It was such a sweet gesture - and such a surprise. I was completely caught off guard. So here we sat, in our first live board meeting in several months, with everyone waiting on me to explain. Across from me sat my children's babysitter who kept my kids from birth until school, my friend who graduated with me from our small town high school, and other members that were still getting to know me. Everyone seemed to want a bit of explanation. Being someone who likes to fly a bit under the radar, I hadn't really said anything to anyone about my upcoming retirement. 

So the moments after I opened the letter went something like this: a brief explanation of my upcoming retirement to everyone, a few laughable comments about my tricky friends, a motion to accept the donation with a request that it be used for children's materials and/or children's programs. Of course, through all of this, I'm still learning the procedures of taking notes about these complicated motions correctly. 

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. They had pulled a lot of good moves across the week, but I didn't see this one coming at all. The next day, I told my colleagues about the events that transpired. It turns out, the envelope was dropped off just the day before our meeting. My friends had no idea that they would so perfectly hit a meeting date, but hit a meeting date they did. We laughed about the scene they managed to create, but mostly I wanted them to know how grateful I was for their support of the small town in which I live and our local library. Most of all, for their understanding of how important getting books into the hands of children is to me. 

I'm going to miss them. 

It's March and I'm diving back into the March Slice of Life Challenge!  Buckle in!  This will be my 8th year joining the community (though I must confess to a two year break).  Yep, some of the writing will be messy.  Honestly, most of it will be messy.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'm excited to dive back into the madness.  Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for hosting.