Tales from a Loud Librarian

As of August 1st, I have been officially retired from Jefferson Parish Public Schools. I taught for a total of 41 years--10 in two different early childhood classrooms and 31 in three different school libraries. I knew in August of 2021 that it would be my last, but I did not know how difficult a year that it was going to be.  Last first day of school in August of 2021 First, Hurricane Ida closed the doors to many of the schools in our district for a whole month. We started school in August, but we were out of the building for the entire month of September. Online learning was not an option because there were many who did not have access to electricity or the Internet. Then in November, I was a plaintiff in a litigation trial for two weeks that took a huge emotional toll on me. I finally got my footing in the library, and then at the beginning of February, I lost my dad who was 97 years old. Every time I turned around something else was blocking my path for a normal year. I have been t