Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Last day
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Goodbyes
Whew, what a week I've had. My feelings have been all over the place.
There is, of course, the end of my one job and the beginning of the next looming. This was the last week of school for students. Several of my favorite kids came by my office to say goodbye, and one boy, Caleb, spent most of his last day hanging out in my office, talking. (He's mildly autistic and one of his accommodations is that he's allowed to find a quiet place to work outside of his classroom when he needs it).
All year he would occasionally stop by my office and ask to sit with me and finish up assignments. I said yes whenever I was able to (and he didn't mind the times when I wasn't) and we'd do our respective work together. I kept gentle guitar music playing softly in the background, and it was a peaceful, quiet atmosphere for work. He'd also come to me when he was upset about something or worried about his grades. Sometimes he just needed to talk, and I'd be there to listen--we've been firm friends throughout his middle school years. How I'm going to miss him! He's headed to high school in the fall, and I'm proud of him. He's worked hard to get there, and he's a really good kid, to boot. His parents must be proud. I hope they are.
The mother of another boy sent me an email on Tuesday asking about his attendance on the last two half days and ended it by saying "thank you for being a constant in John's middle school years and for being so easy to work with". Then later in the afternoon she actually showed up and brought me a gift: this beautiful orchid!
It's going to look wonderful in the window of my new office! In fact, it will replace a yellow orchid growing there that belonged to the outgoing secretary. How perfect is that?! It was awfully sweet of her.
There were a few phone calls and visits from other parents, too, and I appreciated it all. The end of the school year is always a bit bittersweet, with kids growing up and moving on and all that, but it seems especially so for me this year since I'm leaving. Next week there's two teacher and staff workdays, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then that's it. I've finished all of my work and packed up my office, so I won't have anything to do, really. I may bring a book. Then on Tuesday afternoon, when it's time to go home, I'll turn in my office keys and building entry key fob, and that's when I'll be officially done. This month of goodbyes seems to have dragged on, and on, and on....so I'm beyond ready.Onwards and upwards from here (hopefully).
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Garden progress
My garden is coming along nicely. Two or three days of cool, rainy weather have done it more good than two weeks' worth of watering from the hose. There's just something special about rainwater!
My "living mulch" of marigolds is finally amounting to something:
"Marietta" is the variety name."Hillbilly Potato Leaf" will be the first slicing tomatoes we taste this year (probably). The plants are growing like gangbusters.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Early training
Friday, May 12, 2023
Under the weather, but happy
The marigolds, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers in the main bed are starting to grow!
My "Marvel of the Four Seasons" lettuce is looking good right now.
This is the bed in front of the porch, where I've planted two cherry tomatoes and three pepper plants. Zinnias from last year are resprouting in there, too!
For the first time in all the years I've had it, it looks as if the pomegranate tree is going to produce fruit this year! It's taller than the roof and absolutely loaded with flowers and developing poms. Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Follow up post
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
A really good week so far
Well, I had my interview yesterday morning. I think I did fairly well; as always in job interviews, there were a few questions that left me floundering a bit, but I've learned to kind of talk around those moments of awkwardness and to remain calm. From my time as a retail manager interviewing potential new hires, I know that usually interviewers aren't looking for perfect responses to every question. But if a candidate can remain poised, tries to give a thoughtful answer, and will freely admit it when they don't know something (but shows a willingness to learn) then that can go far.
It turns out that elementary schools don't have separate bookkeepers, and so probably 75% of those secretaries' jobs are actually bookkeeping. I was a little surprised by that, and also that one of the heads of finance for the district sat in on the interview. Of course, lots of my past job experience involved managing money, but it's not something I've done since starting work for the district. They assured me that, if I get the job, there will be training to get me up to speed, so I'm not terribly worried about it. I told them that I'm willing and eager to learn!
They had some more interviews scheduled, but the principal assured me that I'll hear one way or the other very soon. As soon as I got back home, I logged onto my work email and sent the principal an enthusiastic "thank you" for her time and consideration. So......we'll see. It's possible someone with more bookkeeping experience will be chosen, and I wouldn't blame them for that. But I do think I have a good shot.
And if it doesn't work out.......guess what? I'll be disappointed, but not terribly so because............
OUR HORRIBLE PRINCIPAL IS GONE! FINISHED! FINITO!
I don't know if it was the literally dozens of teachers and staff that are leaving because of her (at last count it was 30!), or the never-ending HR complaints and grievances filed by staff this year, or the parents that hated her and lobbied for a change......likely all of those factors and more that I know nothing about, but in any case, she's gone. What a relief to know that even if I don't get the new job, at least I won't be working for her next year.