The story: This was the scene the other day in the children's room as I frantically mixed salt dough to prepare for this weekend's special craft program. I had help from one of my library assistants who is super-crafty, which is a good thing, because I probably would have taken four times as long and messed it up somehow had I done it on my own. And here's why: I was multi-tasking, badly.
Due to scheduling abnormalities, I would have no other time to make this stuff for the weekend, and I would also have no other time to have a meeting with my cataloger, and I also would have no other time to set up for an after school program that day. So, all of this had to happen at once.
We started mixing the salt dough (recipe here), and I very quickly realized that I was ill-dressed for the occasion. I had decided to wear a black pencil skirt that day, completely forgetting what I'd be doing. My hands were gooped up with dough and flour and there was already a white spot on my skirt, so I went to get an apron, thinking I'd prevent further mess to my outfit. I tied the apron on myself, and only when it was too late did I realize that in tying it behind me I deposited further flour mess onto my backside, and that trying to wipe it off with dirty hands would only make it worse. So, to Hell with it. I went back to the children's room, and mixed some more dough, and had a very professional, in-depth conversation with our new cataloger about my cataloging philosophy and specific examples of inconsistencies and inaccuracies that needed remedying. We discussed how many decimal places a children's non-fiction book really needs, whether climate change belongs in the three hundreds or five hundreds, and when a personal account crosses over into biography...all while my coworkers politely ignored the smear on my rear.
And then the leader of the after school program walks up, and has to awkwardly shake my floury hand.
The Lesson: Plan your schedule, have extra clothing and an apron at work (and actually remember to change into it BEFORE you get messy), think about asking for help before you make an even bigger mess, and don't get phased by a little white powder. I took several children's literature classes in library school, and while we touched on children's programming, I never really foresaw myself as a children's librarian, so if there were classes on crafting (I don't think there were), I missed them. I think my biggest realization throughout my career is exactly how physically messy this job can be. Luckily, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. (Or my skirt for that matter.)
Resources:
Salt dough recipe
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