Normalcy at last?

Eran is FINALLY home. It may have been less than a month but it sure felt like forever to me. I picked him up from the airport all by myself. And I parked in the right place, just by the elevator and it only cost $1. Give me a little credit next time please!!!

I went in to work thinking I'd spend a leisurely morning doing the last of my report because I worked hard on it yesterday afternoon. It kicked my butt today!!! Then I left the office around lunchtime for the "big" airport. No biggie, but I still have no sense of direction. Give me directions to follow and I am fine, but if there is a change in plans, I don't do contigency plans very well.

My friends went to lunch and I forgot that I asked them to get some ballons or something. As I was walking out the door they showed up with these bright mylar balloons (a yellow smiley face one and one that says "Welcom Back! We missed you!") which I took to the airport and waited with for Eran to arrive.

Then there was some confusion about which terminal they were coming into, but I was right all along. Gotta trust those instincts! Then I was afraid his Green Card wouldn't work through immigration and Customs - I was sweating it - then I finally saw him wheeling out his cart full of luggage - What a relief!

We went to drop off some things at the house before picking up Mr. J from the J. Eran was blocking the door when he walked into the classroom, so I didn't get to see the undoutably priceless expression on my son's face, but the joy and rapture was evident by the pitch and velocity of the squeal. And then the teacher (who shares my birthday) threw her arms around him (Eran, not the little one - he gets enough love from her all day, every day) and proclaimed her happiness at his return too.

Then we walked down the hallway to the All School Shabbat, which is not at all what I expected. The kids are all sitting around in a big circle singing songs with motions. And then of course there is challah and grape juice for everyone (we skedattled before that came about) So we stopped at my mom's house to drop off their gifts and then we came home.

Eran finally crashed around 5:30 and I took Yoni to Shabbat dinner at the house of some friends who live in the same complex as we do and who have two boys who are only slightly older than Yoni.

And that is exactly how I wanted to spend my half day off. With family and friends.

Finally - a breakdown, I mean, breakthrough

This is a post about a goal I set for myself to stop letting my control-freak co-worker get to me...


I arrived to find a message from her at 6:15 when she knows damn well that I don’t arrive until 8:00. She was almost civil and “sweetly” told me that in regards to the question I had asked, not to worry about it as it was part of her responsibilites.

After suffering a breakdown, (a crying jag at my desk which was almost unrelated – my husband returns from a 2-1/2 week overseas trip on Friday, which has given me a renewed respect for single motherhood) I pulled myself together and went on about my day. In the afternoon as I was headed to the kitchen to see if there were any goodies, I was stopped along the way by an especially detail-oriented engineer. He questioned me on something particular which I honestly didn’t have anything to do with so I told him to ask her about it. I even supplied him with her extension # off the top of my head.

So he called and left a message and his closing sentence was just asking for trouble – He said “and B here is claiming its all your fault”

My face fell!

With all the problems we were already having (which he of course knew nothing about) he had potentially made the situation SO much worse. So I marched myself over to my boss and requested a meeting for the 3 of us (he is her supervisor also)

I know he knew it was coming (I have a source in HR who told me to be honest when he came to me about it – which leads me to believe that maybe she had already complained) but he dead-panned and looked at me as if to ask what for?

We had the meeting this afternoon and I am SO proud of myself. I was mostly professional and calm, cool and collected, and not get emotional. I weathered personal attacks and barbs citing my myriad mistakes and pitfalls. I wasn’t prepared for her barrage, but I tried to remain calm and acknowledge the problems while not wasting the opportunity I had to get things out in the open. I brought up several concerns and from some of the supervisor’s comments I could tell that I had the upper hand, so to speak. And we did clarify some issues.

Once the issues were covered, he summarily dismissed me, saying “You go, you stay”. I have never been dismissed before but he “kept her after class” to talk to her more. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall!

Later in the afternoon he approached me at my “office” in cube-land to ask if I thought it was productive. He also said that she wasn’t going to change, that “that’s just how she is” and asked if he should start looking for another position for me, whereas my face fell and I said poutingly (is that even a word) that I liked this dept and that I would give it some time as long as I could learn and grow.

I think I’ll approach him tomorrow and see about getting a different position within the dept. In any case I feel a bit compartmentalized in this position and that my skills are not being used to the utmost. I also have inside information that another dept will be losing its exec asst as she is unhappy in her position and wants to move to our dept. So we’ll see what happens next.

Stay tuned for the next episode in this ever-unfolding drama!

Pay it forward

It was a cold night here in Houston - one of the coldest in a long time, and as we all know, our neighborhood can sometimes be a little dicey after dark.

I was driving home from yet another exciting evening with Bubby and Grandpa trying to help me tire out the Yonster. He had fallen asleep in the backseat (finally!) and, as I turned the corner at the last stoplight before my apartment complex, I saw a young man standing on the corner, right on the bayou, waiting for the bus. He was in a short sleeve red T-shirt, his work uniform. And he had some groceries and a black backpack (which I didn't see from the street). As I drove by he waved at me nonchalantly. That simple gesture made me take pause and before I had even made it through the stoplight I had made a decision.

I turned in the parking lot and came back around on the other side to get him.Then I made a slightly illegal left U-turn so I wouldn't miss the green traffic light. He was waiting for a bus to take him 10 minutes up the road. I was bundled up in my winter coat and I was still cold and here was this young man just waiting for a bus in his short-sleeved T- shirt. And I didn't notice the tell-tale school backpack until he got in the car.

It turns out that this young man was a high school junior who had just finished his shift at a local grocery store. He was a bright kid who was saving up for college at a school in Minnesota - guess the cold doesn't bother him. He yawned as he explained that he still had a five page paper to write for AP history and that the guidelines were very strict - 12 point font, 1" margins, single-spaced - no cutting corners here. In conversation on the way to his destination, it came up that he simply waved because he had nothing better to do and there were very few, if any, cars on the road that night. Upon arrival he offered me gas money (for a short trip up the road - and a high school kid at that!)

I explained to him that I wouldn't hear of it and that I stopped (and truthfully went out of my way) because I would want someone to do the same for my son if the occasion ever arose. My parting words to him were a loose translation of a saying my husband says often, Im matchilim b'mitzvah, osim otah ad ha-sof - "If you're going to do a good deed, make sure it's a great deed" It reminded me of the idea of "Pay it Forward" where one good deed breeds more good deeds. And his comment was that he should remember that one!

I hope he does.

opportunity knocks - twice

I may have a second opportunity to write about something really meaningful, my only concern is that I will be spreading myself too thin if I do.


I had a vague phone message this afternoon that I really need to follow up on.


I already have 2 full-time jobs (the one that pays the bills and also being mother and wife) and this job can be potentially time consuming.


But I got really excited about it the last time and had to turn it down because I was just too overcommitted at the time.


Wish me luck!

Its a good start

I want to travel the world and visit every country there is. Not bad so far. Here they are – where I’ve been – in no particular order (except how I remember them) These are the places I spent my money in…

1. I currently live in the USA - I want to visit all 50 states, but then that’s a separate issue


2. Mexico (it’s just across the border)


3. Canada (I spent the 4th of July there one year)


4. Israel (8 years – got married and had my 1st child there)


5. England


6. Scotland


7. Wales


8. Ireland


9. Spain


10. Turkey


11. Jordan


12. Germany


13. Austria


14. Amsterdam, Netherlands


15. France (a Paris layover doesn’t really count does it?)

BEVO

Go UT in the ROSE BOWL! -Nuff said.

Not usually a football fan, but I heard about it on the drive to work.

Sam and Carlye - This one's for y'all in NYC

Yoni's 1st Day

We took him to the JCC for his first day of school. We went at 7:30 and he was still one of the first to arrive. One of the other teachers was with us for awhile. We stayed there with some other parents until his teacher got there at 8:15 along with the secretary and her daughter who is in his class. She is also the only one who is close to him in age - the others are younger, I sincerely hope that won't be an impediment to him as HE develops. Just by observing them he will be an example to the younger kids as he is more mobile (steadier on his feet as he zooms around) and even with his speech delay he is more vocal than they are.

This place is really posh. Even Sharon and Dov would be impressed because you bring your own Everything. Food must be Kosher but that is not an adjustment for us - supplying food for breakfast, lunch and snacks IS new to us. He used to suffice on what the State supplied for the school. We had to buy him a mat for nap time - how ridiculous. We have been searching for a better lunch box, all we find are pink and purple ones with hearts and stars. And the blue one I have I borrowed from Bubby, but it has some sort of message on it. I want him to be a kid - with Spiderman or Thomas the Train or something fun. Wish I could remember what I did with that cow one I had.

Yoni LOVES trains. Every time we would get stopped by one on the way home from his old school he would light up in the backseat. And if we could see one coming as we entered the school, we would stay outside for an extra minute or two to watch it. He also made the most vocalizations when trains were concerned. Without fail he would ball up his fists and chant "chugga-chugga choo-choo" Even before he was making other sounds this was always a favorite of his and sometimes he would just pretend and do it as we crossed the tracks (with a little encouagement from Mom)

Anyway I have some of his belongings to pick up from his other school including the correct car seat. When he came home on Dec 29, he came home in someone else's car seat. And he still has clothes and art projects and even a toothbrush at the other place.