…the Rolling Stones might not have, but this week, I did!

Walking in to the Elementary Library on Monday July 29th was pretty scary… it was like ‘fallout’ after an attack. Shelves, boxes, projectors, computers, desks and of course books, thousands, actually tens of thousands of books… and none of them where they were supposed to be.

In my dreams, I’d kind of envisioned walking (strutting?) into the library on my first day back with everything kind of, well, finished… ready to go, a place for everything and everything in its place. I’d imagined Joji and Stella choosing to stay in the library over the Summer, organizing everything, ‘watering’ the books so to speak, nurturing them, keeping the pages turning so they don’t get dusty or moldy. I also knew we were having the whole library painted, so on top of regular book maintenance, I knew they’d also put everything back where it should be, magically get rid of the paint smell, and probably have some fresh flowers on display too…. On my return, all I’d have to do was swan around looking important… straighten some books, throw a few on display and chat about my Summer!

I WAS WRONG! I should have known all was not going to plan when Stella e mailed me over the break to say she’d broken her ankle on her honeymoon in Scotland (as you do) and so wouldn’t be in the first week I was back! OUCH… and I don’t mean the ankle… What was I do to without my trusty right hand?

Long story short, I convinced her that wheelchair or no wheelchair… I NEEDED her and staying home on the couch (resting for heaven’s sake!) was not an option.

The next issue was that Joji missed her flight/was late/booked something incorrectly… WHATEVER! and wouldn’t be joining us for the first few days… now my left AND right hand were out of action… what to do?

Well, here is where my catchy title comes in… I got some satisfaction by getting on with it and getting things back to normal. I pushed/shoved/moved… I stacked/unpacked/sorted… I delegated/suggested/insisted… all with the help of my trusty right hand Stella… wheeling herself around, translating as needed, and doing everything she possibly could to help in her impaired state!

I have photos to follow, some before and after shots, however for now, I just feel so elated to have thing looking sort of/kind of/a little back to normal!

Come step by and say hello x