It's been all work and no play, but hopefully that's about to change

So it has finally happened. I know I recently wrote that things have not been going very well at the office, but I will paraphrase for those who need to catch up on what's going on. There are just two of us in our local office. We both report to different bosses out of corporate. She is full-time and I am part-time. She has not been doing her job, nor supporting me in mine. We have had a lot of complaints from those participating in our program. She has been struggling to see eye-to-eye with corporate but has been taking her frustrations out on me and others involved locally. I had been working from home more recently to avoid her bad attitude.

Anyways, the CEO came into town on Wednesday and met with her. Thursday morning, he sent out an email to the Resource Committee. Here are some key points the CEO made in the letter:

• We have been struggling for some time, and in the end came to the mutual decision that it’s best for the organization and for her to head in a new direction.
  
• We are working hard to protect the organization’s image during the transition. We are not publicly discussing the issues that lead to our decision.
  
• During the transition, we will likely be leaning heavily on Juli to help keep things stable while we select and train new employees.

So there it is. I hate conflict and honestly feel bad for her. She has been with the organization almost since it's inception in my small town (over 4 years). But she was unwilling to move forward with the changes that corporate wanted to see happen here. She really wasn't doing her job and was making life miserable for everyone around her. I took her a small gift (a willow tree statue – love them) and a card wishing her the very best. She sent me an email thanking me. I hope things are okay between us. Especially since in this small town I'm sure we'll still have quite a bit of contact.

I am really looking forward to some new beginnings and hope they hire someone who will not only be as passionate about the program as I am, but also someone who will be a team player. I love my job and am hoping to start having some fun again while doing it.

My happy list

I promised that I would focus on the positive in this post, so here is my happy list:

• Cruise to Mexico in April. I went on a 7 day cruise with my husband to Mexico. We stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. We had an amazing time and thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine. We are already planning a cruise with our whole family for next year!
  
• DD Medicaid Waiver. After over a year and a half on the waiting list, Dalin is finally getting on the waiver program. What does mean? Additional insurance coverage for treatments our insurance doesn't cover (which is most when it comes to autism treatments). It also pays for other services like respite. We are very excited even though there has been lots of paperwork to complete to make it happen. Hopefully starting July 1, we'll finally have access to these greatly needed services.
  
• Summer. I love summer and the time we get to spend with family and friends. We have already traveled once to Utah and have a couple more trips planned.
  Retirement. My mom retired this year. I am happy for her, but for me as well. I hope it means that she'll have more time to spend with her kids and grandkids and that I'll get to see her more often.
  
• 40 is the magic number. That's the age my husband turned on his birthday earlier this month. My birthday is only 3 days before his. We spent a almost 2 weeks celebrating with multiple parties, dinner out and even a romantic night away for just the two of us to the Johnson Mill B&B in Midway, Utah.

I really do have a good life -- it just has its bumps in the road like everyone else.

It's been too long and there's too much to share

It's been a very long time since I have written. I must admit that I had taken on way too much these last months. Between school board, primary, work and going to school I felt like I just couldn't keep up. And so I let my blog go. I admit that I really could've used the therapy writing in my blog gives me, but so much of what's been going on in my life is "confidential" and so in reality I couldn't write it down anyways. But I will share what I can.

School Board -- it has been nuts with lots of personnel and legal issues. We have spent way too many hours in executive session. The things we have discussed have been a huge burden because everything discussed is considered confidential and I am not even allowed to discuss it with my husband. I am one of those people who feel so much better when I am able to share thoughts and feeling with someone impartial. I have been unable to do that, so it has been difficult.

Primary -- I have been serving as the Primary President of my LDS ward now for over 2 years. It has been a difficult calling at best. I love the children, but struggle with some of the other adults with whom I serve. We have so many who just don't bother to show up and don't find a sub or even call to let us know they aren't coming. I have also had a lot of people calling to complain about others they serve with. Some of the complaints are valid, but most are over petty things. I feel like they look to me to resolve everything, which is impossible. The bishop asked me to speak in church two weeks ago (on my birthday of all days) about fulfilling your calling. It was a very difficult talk to give (especially since we had a teacher storm out of their classroom and ask to be released just minutes before I spoke). There were a couple people who were offended. One even posted a nasty comment about my talk on her Facebook. I am burned out, but will keep pressing forward because I know it is what the Lord would have me do. I just hope that there is some relief in sight.

Work-- I love my job working for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I am the Community Outreach Coordinator. I am responsible for recruiting all the kids and volunteers who participate in our program. I am also in charge of marketing, PR and fundraising. We just held our annual Bowl For Kids' Sake in May. It was an awesome event and raised over $23,000 in cash and in-kind contributions. It was a ton of work and I put in a lot of extra hours. Unfortunately things have not been going so well with my co-worker. There are just two of us in our local office. She is full-time and I am part-time. She has not been doing her job, nor supporting me in mine. We have had a lot of complaints from the community. She has been very frustrated with corporate but has been taking her frustrations out on me. I have been working from home a lot to avoid her bad attitude. With so much stress going on in all the other areas of my life, I just haven't been able to deal with her constant negativity as well. Anyways, she is on thin ice right now. Corporate is not saying much, but I think she is on the verge of getting fired. Honestly it is a no-win situation. It's such a small town that even if they do fire her, she can create a lot of havoc if she so chooses. This is so sad, because I really do love my job and have been recruiting friends for our program. It really upsets me when she offends people who I bring into the program and I feel like my hands are tied to do anything about it. I am searching for a light at the end of the tunnel in this situation as well.

Okay - so enough complaining for one day. I vow that my next post will be about the positives (yes there are some).