Attending Library conferences over the years has truly enriched my life. When I was an active mother, it was a holiday. In 2015 I brought T with me to San Francisco and we had a lovely time. In New Orleans in 2018 I learned about grits. I also discovered that sleeping car beds are not friendly to my arthritis. In 2019 I went to the ACRL conference in Cleveland, OH and met with Library Juice Press, and they accepted my book proposal.

       So I went to ALA Midwinter virtually. I had a nice time, and learned some things about attending conferences. ALA Midwinter was distorted because I forgot to leave home. I have a rich and complex life, that includes extensive commitments on the weekends. I did everything I usually do, and then layered conference on top of it. That was a mistake.

       So, I intend to attend ALA Annual virtually. I am going to do my best to “leave home.” I will arrange to also “leave work.” It’s important to focus. I want to learn how to attend virtual conferences because I am aging with a disability, and going to F2F conferences is going to get harder.