Let's do lunch! All day!

Lunch is dominating my life at work! Our charter school just opened a cafeteria and is serving a boxed breakfast and hot lunches. Guess who gets to handle all the accompanying paperwork and money flow? That would be me, the entire administrative staff at the school! By the end of the week, I actually got to where I could spend a few minutes on things not lunch-related. But I was glad to have an entire day to get out report cards on Friday! It was a teacher workday, totally devoted to report cards. That, coupled with 10 hours of overtime on Wednesday and Thursday nights, got our report cards out on time!

I had a visit with my former project manager. I was impressed that he started the conversation with an apology for how he treated me at the end of our time together at the former workplace. I was interested in what they were doing at this new company and wouldn't mind being a part of it. It is much more "start-up" than I expected. After a follow-up call, it sounds like he will pitch the idea of hiring me to the higher ups. Even if an offer comes around, I still will give it a lot of prayer and thought. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for me! And if I do leave the school before the year is out, I will make sure their transition will be as painless as possible. I would want them to hire a replacement and let me assist in training that person thoroughly. (Then they can un-train them when I leave!) It may be that I will finish out the school year and make a change, or stay with the school for years to come!

We have not submitted our applications to Agape Flights yet. Mark is still finishing up his. I just noticed information on their website about the loss of their plane. You can read about it here.

If you read my daughter's blog, you know this has been a challenging month for us. Sometimes it takes the challenges for us to be dependent on God for His provision. God revealed his provision through an unexpected gift that taught my daughter the humility of allowing others to bless you in your need. Yes, we have made mistakes and poor choices and will have to face the consequences thereof. But I do not regret that our children have had to learn that at times we must wait for things and make choices between needs and wants. Hopefully, they will be better prepared for life because of this.

A New (Year) Start

Today was my first day back to school as school secretary. It was a zoo! We enrolled 4 new students and had several calls inquiring about openings. If they all come, we'll be maxed out on enrollment!

It was hard getting back in the swing of things. I felt like I couldn't complete a task before getting interrupted. But it was good to see the teachers, the students, and my campus director again.

I had something unexpected happen today. My project manager from my previous employer called me to try to woo me to the new company where he is working. I'm not sure what to think. This is a company that was started by a very respected coworker at my previous place of employment. However, the guy that called is the same guy that, for all practical purposes, fired me a year and a half ago. I was a temp, so I wasn't really fired -- just "no longer needed". But since he bantered around words like "insubordination", it makes me wonder why he's after me now.

As I look back on that time, we were both put under a lot of stress by those above us. And it was a weird situation, as far as chain of command goes. He was my project manager but not my supervisor, and it was unclear who I actually supposed to report to. (If he's not your supervisor, is it insubordination?) He pushed me to cut corners, which I felt compromised the procedure, if not the product as well. I questioned him one too many times. However, before those last few months, we actually worked well together, and he elevated me to positions that stretched me and challenged me.

I'm also reminded of an old adage with a twist: Fire me once, shame on you; fire me twice, shame on me.

From another angle, the money was good, and the family made the best progress in recent years of retiring our debts. Since I lost that job, we have made negative progress in that regard. Money isn't everything, but it has been keeping us back from possibly pursuing missions.

Another important aspect is how this would impact the family. William is in school now. They have after school care for a very reasonable price, but we'd also have to work out getting him there every day at an acceptable time for all. I've also been spending lots of time working with him to get him to do his schoolwork in a timely fashion. Would I have that time at another job? It also has helped for me to be on campus and chatting with his teacher on a regular basis.

This phone call was so out of the blue that I know I need to mull it over a bit before I decide anything. And just because I investigate this new company doesn't mean I'll accept an offer. But this is one time that I wouldn't mind if God dropped down a billboard with directions!