I am messy. I spill things. I lose my keys. I have dirty Tupperware in the backseat of my car. I spill coffee everyday because it sloshes easily out of a mug. But here is the thing. I cook almost all my meals at home for myself, my baby and my husband. So, I am going to continue to be forgiving of myself for my aforementioned weaknesses. Also, I have had 10 different coffee tumblers in the past two years and they have all broken or lost their tops. 

My husband, Mark, under the correct impression that his wife (me) , who is thrifty (true), would not spend money purchasing an easier way to to transport her coffee, came home one evening with a gift of a Hydro Flask for me. 

I never do it the easy way. We had an assignment due recently, where we needed to answer a few questions about Intellectual Freedom:

1. What thought “struck you” or was an “AHA” moment for you as you looked through the readings and resources, and considered the idea of intellectual freedom in schools?
2. As a school librarian, how will you promote AND protect the intellectual freedom of your students?
3. Share at least two challenges that you can foresee in your efforts to promote and protect the intellectual freedom of your students, and how you will address these challenges.

I jotted down a few notes in my spiral about what I was going to say and then was eager to record myself speaking on Flipgrid. I pressed record and then immediately realized that this post was timed. I only had 1 minute and 29 seconds to answer these three questions. I spent the next 35 minutes recording this 89 second recording. Why? Because I refused to write my answers out and read them, or mostly read them. 

By the time I submitted my final recording, my voice was tired, and I realized I really need to start working smarter and not harder. 

Fast forward 5 days. It is day one with my new Hydro Flask and I have already had two major spills (of hot water- always- coffee on my way to work and hot water for the rest of the day). How can it be that I have this ergonomic piece of technology that cost as much as my annual flu shot ($26), and yet I’m spilling water everywhere on the carpet of my choir room? Easy- I am not closing the lid properly.

I take deep breaths on my way to work and on my way home. I take deep breaths when I am breast feeding. I take deep breaths in the shower. I realize what I need is a little organizational make over. I need to slow down…in some ways. I make sure to close that lid. I check and double check the mass email I send to choir parents. The tupperware is just going to be a daily thing. Except, I empty my car out daily. I feel bad for not engaging with the baby after being at work all day, so I strap her to me while I do these chores. 

The last two days have been very successful. I did not spill my coffee or hot water. I attended two of the three required events for my upcoming Field Project: Community Reading Advocacy! I was about to submit the wrong Purchase Order request for a lunch next weekend, but stopped, re-read my emails, found the correct invoice to fill out, filled it out and submitted it in a timely fashion. I’m proud of myself. A little Hydro Flask that you didn’t ask for from a husband that sees your areas of need can be a game changer.