A No Show, A Hospital Run, and Four This Year

Work has kept me on my toes lately. We had water baptisms on Sunday and I knew the tank had been emptied and cleaned so I checked it today and saw the covers hadn't been put over the top. They're 4 large pieces of wood covered in carpet and they're very heavy. I called one of the custodians and we tried to figure them out, it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

When we were just about done with that I got a call on the radio that there was a situation in one of the women's bathrooms. I left the custodian to finish with the tank and I found another custodian had been cleaning the bathroom sinks when one of our huge mirrors fell forward and landed on her. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and it didn't break, it just kind of slowly leaned forward and she braced it. I went to the maintenance office, grabbed some duct tape and MacGyvered it! While doing that, I got another call saying my delivery had arrived so I went upstairs, let the driver into our storage area, signed the invoice... it was just non-stop today. 

I hired a new custodian last week and he was due to start yesterday at 2:00. He never showed. I texted him at 2:30 telling him I was a little surprised that he didn't even show up to his first day at a new job. I asked him if he was available today and he said yes, but gave no explanation as to why he didn't show up. I was trying to show him some grace and mercy. He called me this morning and we talked for a few minutes about the paperwork and his uniform. "Sounds good. See you at 2:00." But again he didn't show! At 2:30 I called his cell and it went straight to voicemail. I left a message and then waited. Finally at 2:45 I texted again only this time it was to tell him the job wasn't going to work out and he wouldn't be working here. So now it's back to square one looking for a new employee. Frustrating.

Right after I got home today I got a call from a friend who needed a ride home from the hospital. Actually the call was from his late wife's daughter, who happens to be his Power of Attorney but lives out of town. His procedure ended up taking longer than expected and all the drivers from his assisted living place had gone home. What?! Why were they allowed to leave when one of their residents was still at the hospital? I just didn't understand that! Anyway, I hopped in my car and drove up to get him. Thankfully it's only 5-10 minutes from my house. I took him home and a couple nurses came with his electric chair and took him on up to his room. Would they have left him at the hospital? I'm glad I was available! 

Every few days I check the bird's nest in the wreath and today...

There's 4 tiny eggs! This is so fun! I believe the birds are called Junko. They're a type of Sparrow. I saw the mommy bird in the nest so I stuck my arm out the front door so I wouldn't scare her and got this picture:

She's keeping them safe and warm! 

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying Spring. It's hard to believe May is right around the corner!

First Official Day On The Job

I came home for lunch on Thursday and before I went back to work, I helped Beth with her hair. (A few years ago her doctor diagnosed her with Alopecia so now I put her hair in a small ponytail to help hide her bald spot.)

I head back to work and at about 2:00, Beth came walking in. The DART bus had dropped her off and she was coming to get her key.

I gave her a check list to help her remember the things she's supposed to do before she actually begins emptying the trash.

She took her key and the list and headed out of the office. I kept watching her until she went around the corner toward the stairs. I kept thinking about her and after about an hour I couldn't stand it anymore! I was wondering how she was doing but I didn't want her to see me!

I saw one of the classroom doors was open and the light was on so I stopped just short of the door.

I turned the sound off on my phone and then turned on the camera. I slowly slid my phone across the wall so just the lens is in the doorway and I suddenly hear,

"Whew!! You be okay?"

"I be okay."

My guess is she had bent over, trying to tie the bag and had just stood up and got a little dizzy!

I pulled the phone back real quick until I heard her moving again. Then I carefully took a few more pictures and went back to my desk.

It took her about an hour and a half to finish all 8 classrooms, take the cart outside and throw all the bags into the large dumpster, bring the cart back downstairs, sign out, and then come up to my desk. An hour and a half! I was very impressed!

You know, she is SO glad to be working! For many years whenever she talked to someone - anyone! - she would say, "I have a boyfriend." Nick was her favorite thing to talk about.

Now? Now the first thing she says is, "I have a job now!" She tells anyone who will listen, about her job. Where she works, what she does...

Her and I were talking about flipping our calendars. It's a big thing around here! Beth knows that at the first of the month, she gets paid from the state. So around the middle of every month, she starts counting down the days until we flip our calendars.

I told her that this time when we flip our calendars she'll get paid from the state and she'll get her paycheck. 

She squealed so loud!! "Eeeeeee!!"

So that's how her first official day went. She always checks her phone when she's done to see how many steps she took. I'm looking forward to see how this affects her in the months to come.

Thank you for stopping by! 

I hope you have a week worth squealing about!

Pessimist or Optimist?

I tend to be a pessimist.

I find myself always leaning toward the negative when telling a story or recalling a situation, and I don't like that about myself.

So I want to start my own Thankful Thursday. To remind myself

 there's always something to be thankful for.

This week I'm thankful for:

A lazy day at home

Snow on the ground

Adventures with family
Chuck coming home for lunch every day
Celebrating a friend who is living free from drugs

Getting to tell an employee they're getting a raise

What about you, do you consider yourself a pessimist or an optimist?

She Might Cry Tonight But The Change Will Be Good

Beth works at Little Caesars two evenings a week. She folds boxes, sometimes 300-400 in a three hour span. She loves her job and the people she works with. The problem though, is that her job is about 45 minutes from our house. And that's on a good day.

There is usually SO much traffic, it's known as a bottleneck here in Seattle. When people hear you have to take that route to get somewhere, you'll hear moans and groans. It's a long, grueling trip and no one likes it.

Well, Beth has been taking that trip (riding the DART bus each way) for more than 2 years. Sometimes she's on the bus for 2 and a half hours each way which means she's gone from the house for sometimes 8 hours... for a 3 hour shift.

And the poor DART drivers! One night they dropped her off at home at 10:20! I asked the driver if he was headed home and he still had one more person to drop off! It makes for a long day for everyone.

Beth's job coach has been searching for a store closer to our home that would hire her to do the same job. Some stores are franchises and they don't have a position of 'box folder'; others don't have the hours to spare.

But today she found a store willing and able to take Beth! The same woman owns both stores, the one Beth is at now and the one she'll be going to and she was willing to hire her at this new place! She heard how beneficial Beth was and what great job she did, so she was willing to let her switch!

And... the new store is only about 15 minutes from our house. I'm so relieved.

I told Beth about it this morning over breakfast and she was sad at first. I could see her starting to tear up, but the more we talked about it, the more excited she got! She met this new manager a few weeks ago and when I told her K would be her new boss, she smiled and her eyes lit up.

She ended up making a card for everyone at the store tonight, then I printed off a picture of her in her uniform and we put it on the front. She wrote a beautiful sentiment inside and I expect she might cry as she leaves work for the last time.

But I know she's gonna love this new place. We plan to take her by the store tomorrow so she can see where it is and it won't be a big shock to her come next weekend. It's such a relief knowing she won't be so far away and she won't have to spend 6 hours on the bus!

 

We Surprised Her Again and She Really IS a Ninja!

On the spur of the moment last week we stopped in at Little Caesars to see Beth at work. She was really busy! These stacks are wrapped in plastic and there are 50 boxes in each stack.

Here she is putting the glue on top of the box.

 

 

 

Then she sticks the coupons on...

 

 

 

 

And folds the top back to reveal the next one.

 

 

Once she gets all the coupons on, she then folds each box.

Behind her are the stacks that she's done in previous weeks.

 

After we got home, I received this text from her job coach:

"Beth did SIX stacks tonight. Wahoo!! I am so PROUD of her. She is AMAZING!"

 

I know I've been posting about her at work a lot lately, but she's doing such a fantastic job!

We're so proud of her!