Some Life Updates

I’ve been talking a lot about job-related issues lately, and I know that gets super boring. However, I spend 40 hours of my week there, so it’s about all I’ve got these days. Still, I wanted to jump on here and give a few life updates.

In January, we celebrated Corey’s grandfathers’ 90th birthday. Several of his children pitched in to make shirts and have a photographer take family pictures. His health started declining around Christmas, so we prayed he’d make it. Then about a week before his birthday, we saw significant improvement. He was cracking jokes, remembering certain people, and walking on his own. He was looking fairly well for someone who was about to be 90. And by the time the 8th rolled around, we were able to celebrate with him and the entire family. Sadly, he passed away a few weeks later. But I’m grateful for that last big get-together. There were a lot of laughs, hugs, and love.

In February, we celebrated Emery’s birthday! I'm super grateful for another year. She’s lost the baby cheeks. Almost exclusively shops at Hollister and American Eagle. She’s gotten more into music, and her taste in genres has been interesting, to say the least. She was the junior high girl’s basketball manager during the off-season, and now that it’s spring, she’s running track. Recently we’ve discussed having her start learning to drive, and that’s such a scary thought. Can y’all believe that we’re almost there? It’s such a surreal thing for me. I’m so excited to see who she becomes, yet I still wish she could be that little two-year-old wanting to hug her mom and wear tutus. It’s been a bittersweet season for me.

At the end of February, I ran my first out-of-town 5k at the Fort Worth Cowtown. My brother and sister-in-law came down, and we made a weekend out of it. Over 150 runners from our run group were in attendance for the weekend. Some did single events while others took on the challenges. Since it was my first time there I decided to keep it easy. The first mile of the event was frustrating, but after that, we found our groove. The expo was a bit much for me as the lines for everything were long. However, as we made our way out, we saw that the kid's 5k was underway, so we stayed and cheered them on. The overall energy there was fun, and I’m hoping to sign up for the half next year. Eeks! Never thought that would be a goal, but here we are!

It’s March, and I just wrapped up my 8-week course. I still have two classes this semester that end in May. A lighter workload going forward will be awesome! I’ve been advised and officially registered for the last two courses of my college career. At least for now. The next step is to apply for graduation in April, pass the last two courses, and hopefully cross the big stage in August. I mistakenly read the reviews for the last two classes, and most have discussed the difficulty level. These courses are challenging, and other students recommended not taking them during the summer. So, I’m incredibly nervous. However, I’m going to give it my all. I’m beyond ready to be finished with college. I want to enjoy time with my family again. Plus, I have so many books I want to read and running goals I want to reach. While I get little moments and breaks here and there, I’m ready to be fully present without homework, projects, or paper due dates looming.

That about sums it up for now. This week, and I'll use it to catch up on my real estate class. I'll also be starting on my research paper which I'm dreading. I hope to get some running days in too. We also get a short work week so I'm excited about that. Shadow and Bone season 2 releases on Thursday, and I can't wait! This girl is going to binge-watch the heck out of it. Besides that, we have a pretty slow and quiet break planned. I hope this finds everyone safe and well. Until the next one...🖖🏽 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Finding My Work People in the Chaos

If you’ve been keeping up with my work saga, I have another installment for you. A brief little recap: I left my previous job of 12 years due to toxicity and a lack of opportunities. Where I was is where I would remain. No moving up in position or pay. My manager at the time told me if, for some reason, this new job didn’t pan out that, he would hire me back. The direct quote was, “If it’s 30 days, 90 days, a year - it doesn’t matter. If yours is already filled, I’ll create a position for you to return to.” So, off I went to give this new opportunity a go. Only the onboarding was terrible. No one knew anything. The person training me was disliked by everyone. No one was listening to my suggestions. And after my first week, I had no idea why they had hired me.

Fast forward a month, and after minimal training and several hours of LinkedIn learning - they terminated the person who was supposed to train me. Suddenly they expected me to handle all of the accounting processes for our organization and two others. This was on top of regular duties. We lost our Assistant Vice President to a different school that week too, and the Executive Assistant I was looking forward to learning more from moved out of her role. Three team members from different divisions started helping me navigate the chaos, but they also had their own jobs. The instructions were, “Just keep the lights on.” There were filing cabinets and boxes stacked taller than me. I didn't have the credentials to complete tasks through our main accounts, and no one had any process information. The only accounting resource we had couldn’t touch our financials because our foundation didn’t want to pay for those services. Then I had different university departments reaching out about scholarships and grants that I had no clue about. And the motto from our President seemed to be, “Just figure it out.”

I reached out to my old boss, but the answer was, “I wish I could hire you back, but….” So, much for that, huh? Two weeks later, I was informed they had posted a receptionist position. It would appear that they wanted to hire someone else for less pay. Which is fine, and I don't blame them. I did leave after all. It just made me question my previous boss’ words. And whether anything that was said before I left was even genuine. I guess it's true when they say as an employee, you're replaceable. I was a little bummed, but I figured there was a bigger picture I wasn’t seeing yet. And did I really want to dive back into a toxic work environment? Anyway, I decided to move on from the idea that my previous employer would be able to help me out. And by the end of January, there were more dumpster fire days at this new job than not. Some afternoons I went home to cry. I felt like an idiot and completely incompetent. Then school started back up, and I began to stress. Though, if I'm honest, I looked forward to the days I had a class because they got me away from the office. Kind of sad, huh?  

Thankfully, at the beginning of February, someone was hired to help me. And she’s been an enormous blessing. Before she came on board, though, two remarkable women stepped up and had been helping me pretty much every day throughout this whole fiasco. And it was such a huge difference to work with people who lift each other up. They're ready whenever I have questions or need to bounce some ideas off of them. On rough days, there’s chocolate or coffee offered, and a “Let’s sit down and work through this together.” When I talked about my strengths and weaknesses, they listened. And we’ve talked about getting me back onto the career path I want once the dust settles. Because even if it means that I transfer out of this role, they want me to be happy at my job. And that’s what helps me get through most of my days.

While the meetings may feel like they never stop, and I still don’t know what I’m doing half the time, I think I’ve found my people. The work environment is one that I enjoy; it's just the job I'm having difficulties with. So, I’m chugging along. I know it won’t feel this chaotic forever, and I have a great team around me. The hope is that everything will smooth over after a year, and we’ll have more of a routine. Or maybe a new opportunity might arise? Whatever it is, I know I have people in my corner, and that’s such a great feeling. So, for now, I’m just hunkered down. I’m doing the best that I can, and that’s all I can really do.