Playing Boss

This past week I worked in the office for the week as my supervisor was on vacation.  It was the first time since my promotion in October that I've had the opportunity to work in the office for more than a day or two at a time.

And I got to do a little bit of everything - work out coverage for staff coming in late and leaving early for appointments, organize appropriate coverage for staff lunch breaks, attempt to fill daycare spaces with new children, try to organize the waiting list, send sick children home, book supply staff, deal with repair people, organize the training of a new cook, inform a staff that she is being transfered to another program, inform staff of shift changes, make photocopies, fill in the paysheets, do paperwork and filing . . . and I'm sure there are other things that I missed.  And that's not to mention the countless phone calls to the supervisor at the other center and the director.

I know that it is all part of the job that Rhonda does on a daily basis and I've had a taste of it all on my others days in the office, but for my first full week, it was a bit overwhelming.  Despite being somewhat overwhelmed, I did throughly enjoy the week and I am looking forward to another week of playing boss in August.  Normally, I am not one for change but this is a very comfortable change and every time I have a day or even part of a day to work in the office it becomes more comfortable.

Unfortunately, going back into the program after even a day in the office is more difficult than I expected.  It always seems like I have missed out on much more than a day with my kids and it takes both them and me a little while to get back into the swing of things.  And life in the toddler room is just so much busier and louder than life in the office!  

Despite my enjoyment of my office time and the difficulty that I have getting back into my routines in the program, I'm not sure that I would want to be a full time supervisor right now.  It is a place that I do hope to get at some point in my career and if the opportunity presented itself, I would not turn it down but right now, I like my toddlers too much!  Some days they drive me mad, some days I feel like I never want to change another diaper or potty change another child, sometimes I want to scream, sometimes I want to run away and never come back, but then one of them randomly runs over and give me a big hug and reminds me how important my job is and that despite all the little things that drive me batty, I really do love toddlers.  And I am happy and content with where I am in my career.