Work

Work is going along treadingly. As in: I’m not drowning, but I wouldn’t say it’s going “swimmingly.” I’m keeping my head above water, but it’s tiring.

In the first 4 hours, Cindy asks me to do things that I'm unsure about: often am not sure exactly what it is she wants me to do, or how she wants it done, or if she really cares how I do it…and sometimes they’re things I’d really rather not do, like make phone calls to businesses in the area and ask them if they’d be willing to donate food or supplies or money for our upcoming fall festival. If you know me very well, you know that making phone calls is one of my least favorite activities in the world. Especially when it’s to people I don’t know, and especially when it involves formality…SIGH.

The last 4 hours are a completely different story. I still haven’t quite figured out how to respond to and interact with the middle schoolers, so that’s always a little awkward. Then, the 1st-4th graders come and bounce off the walls and yell at each other and ignore my instructions or my pleadings. I don’t even get that many opportunities to give them instructions because I’m so busy trying to get them to calm down enough to listen! I wasn't expecting to be surprised by how difficult the children were and how chaotic it might be, but then I realized that although I'm used to working with groups of 7 kids at day camps, I'm only used to having 1 or 2 per group who are noisy and/or hyperactive and/or violent. But here, the opposite is true. Out of 7 there's maybe one or two that aren't! Luckily, they all have their good sides, too. The trick is to figure out how to make that good side be the dominant side...

I come home tired at the end of the day.