Saturday, October 27, 2007

Things I will not miss about my job

1) Extremely long meetings. For instance, (and I got out of this one because I gave my notice just in time) last week all the staff in our region were required to attend a meeting lead by an expert who teaches people how to use e-mail more efficiently. This meeting began at 8:30 in the morning and lasted until 4:00 in the afternoon. I want to know when they're going to teach people how to hold more efficient meetings.

2) Annual Award Banquets. Okay--not so much the banquet as organizing it--the actual banquet itself is fun. Specifically, I won't miss worrying about giving out the right awards to the right kids and all the pressure in making sure no one feels left out. And knowing that someone is going to, no matter what I do. I spent all yesterday afternoon and this morning designing certificates, typing up the awards' list, designing the program guide, and fretting. This event is a week away and I will stress over it all week.

3) Snippy e-mails and/or phone calls from the office secretary. Most of the time she's a great gal, but she has days where she seems determined to do the job of the director and/or me and I either get to deal with the fallout of a dialogue between her and some parent she offended, or she gives me orders she doesn't have the authority to give. To say that this pisses me off, is an understatement.

4) Disgruntled parents who are either disgruntled at me or another parent. One way or the other, it's my problem. I have new set of them this year who are really struggling to get along and I feel sorry for my replacement. They will have their hands full.

5) The driving--the forty minute commute to work, the hour-long drive to bi-monthly meetings, and the semi-annual trips to places that are two and three hours away. I hate driving. Have I ever said that on here?

6) Always feeling like I'm in the wrong place--be it at home worrying about work or at work worrying about home. This is probably the number one thing I won't miss.

All of that said, I will miss the people end of the job, the parents who feel secure with calling me up to talk and wind up chatting about their personal stuff with me because it affects their kids' involvement with our organization. I've learned a lot from these people, many of whom are up against bigger struggles than I face. Some of them are more like friends than just people I work with. And I will unquestionably miss the kids, especially the ones who I've watched blossom over the last three and a half years.

This job has given me a lot of insight into myself. I think I'm leaving it with a substantially stronger self-esteem than I had when I took the position. I now know that when I'm finished schooling my own boys (three of my four will be either in high school or college in two years) I will go back to college and finish my degree with an emphasis in education. I don't know what I want to teach yet, just that I want to.

2 comments:

Scotty said...

"This job has given me a lot of insight into myself...
I don't know what I want to teach yet, just that I want to."


You go, girl - that's just what education systems (all over the world) need - more teachers who care.

Vote 1 for Mary! (oops, sorry, Mrs Paddock; care for an apple?)

:-)

Mary O. Paddock said...

Thanks Scotty