The Busiest Week of the Year Turned Into a Little More

We've been doing these Thanksgiving Outreaches for more than 25 years and every year is different. Pastor R's wife J, who organizes and plans everything was sick this year and for the very first time wasn't there Thanksgiving Day! She's in her 70's and is just pushing herself too hard. (That's what Pastor R told me.) I believe him.

 

But everything went well. There were so many extra people that came to eat we had to set up 9 additional tables! Everyone eats, we clear and reset the tables, then the next group - or seating -  comes in. We have three seatings every year. We were completely exhausted by the end of the week / day, but it was so good to serve the community. We have a reception area for families to have snacks and play games while they wait to go into the dining room; there is a place to have photos taken; we have translators, prayer counselors, a clothing bank... and everything is free.

 

I spent Friday watching the parade and just recuperating. Then Saturday morning Beth and I headed back to church to clean up and reset everything for Sunday morning. I brought donuts, granola bars, bananas, McDonalds egg McMuffins, orange juice - anything the custodians might need to keep them going all day! We worked for a few hours, then headed home for our family Thanksgiving while the custodians finished up at church.

 

 

Our dinner was delicious and afterward we took a walk, then played cards. Poppy rested on the couch and watched us play.

At 5:15 Sunday morning I got a text from the custodian saying he was sick and couldn't work. I started getting ready just in case and at 6:00am began texting other custodians to see if they could work but it was a holiday weekend and no one was available. So I worked an 8 hour shift as a custodian, lifting huge cambros filled with coffee, moving tables,

needless to say I was wiped out by the end of the weekend. Thankfully we had Monday off so I rested that day too.

 

 

Tuesday I was back at work and that evening, the snow hit. More on that later!

Draining

Today was my day off and I spent part of it, to be honest, on my knees crying over my job. I had no idea just how much it would change my life and how time consuming it would be. (For many years I was the Admin for our Facilities department but a little over a year ago I became the Custodial Supervisor.)

I went through my camera to see what recent pictures I had that I could post here and they're all from work! 

Chemicals
Beverage containers
Room set ups
A Maintenance code on one of our copiers

  

(So I know how many beverages to bring to this event each week.)

 

(Trying to see where on the floor the tables are to be placed.)

(You have to know the code when you call for maintenance.)

I won't post the pictures of the bathrooms that desperately needed attention. (I work at a large church and we serve a lot of homeless and people with addictions. During flu season you expect bathrooms to look... well you know, but let's just say these were bad enough it looks like they were sabotaged so I took photos just in case.)

I've had one custodian give notice, another is leaving on a two week missions trip and still another is going home (out of country) for two and a half months. I'm trying to hire more people but for now I'm working as Supervisor during the day and as a custodian a few nights a week. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. I spoke to my boss yesterday and he's helping me with the hiring process. But today I just broke down and cried out to the Lord. Honestly, I feel better. Tears for me are a way to relieve stress. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? How do you relieve stress?

I promise I'll post some fun Christmas pictures soon. The whole family was together again!

I Hope There's A Happy Ending

I'm sorry I haven't posted or logged on to read and comment on your posts. The month of August has been one for the record books!

A week after we got back from San Diego, I was at work when the maintenance guy J called me down to his office. (We're equals, he's not my boss.) My head custodian C was also in his office and J  began to talk to me, "I heard S is mad at me. But I never told her..." 

I looked directly at C, and yelled, "You read a note that was on my desk?! A private note?!" I stormed out.

Later she came to the front office and said she wanted to talk to me. We went to another room and she began to incriminate herself by putting up a defense about every single thing in the note! I stood there and just let her talk. Then I yelled, "I DON'T CARE WHAT WAS IN THE NOTE!! THAT NOTE WAS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!"

I went to my boss who, unbeknownst to me went to our Senior Pastor. Then my boss came back to me and privately told me this was grounds for dismissal. 

This custodian is one who stirs up trouble, creates controversy, gossips, complains... I had written up a disciplinary form a few months ago and she was actually still on probation from that.  (Our old facility manager wrote her up quite a few times. She has a very large file.) And now at this point, we can no longer trust her.

My boss and I made the decision to fire her. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to wait to tell her. I had knots in my stomach for two days and couldn't sleep. 

But, it actually went better than I expected. I thought she would scream and yell and try to defend her actions but she just acted very stoic and refused to tell my boss (our boss) why she had done it. "You looked at things on Cindy's desk, what other desks have you gone through? Have you read anyone else's mail?" 

Just a very cocky, "I don't know."

C has been very difficult from day one, she's disrespectful to me and all the custodians and walks around with a chip on her shoulder. I'm 100% positive we made the right decision. But it didn't make it any easier. Especially since she's been there for 20 years.

So I've spent this weekend telling the other custodians that C has been let go. Can I just say, no one has cried any tears. 

As hard as this week was, I know things are only going to get better. I've already seen the other custodians beginning to work together and our maintenance guy even told me, "We're all a team. We're like family."       

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!

A Different Way Of Looking At Things

I think I might have told you that our Facility Manager is moving to Texas. He and his wife have three daughters and the youngest just graduated from high school. And wouldn't you know it, she's going to go to the same college that both her sisters go to... in Texas. 

We attend a large church, about 1200 on a Sunday and we have a Facility Manager, a maintenance guy and I'm the admin for the facilities department. When the FM gave his notice, the Board decided not to hire anyone to replace him. 

Instead, they asked the maintenance guy if he'd want to head up that department and they asked... me if I'd head up the custodial department.

At first I said I wanted to pray about it but inside I felt I was supposed to take it. A couple days later the Lord give me confirmation about it and so I said yes! And man has it been a whirlwind of activity since then!

I've been meeting with our Operations Pastor, talking about my increase in pay, hours, responsibilities. Yesterday the FM said he was going to bring up a few files and he came into my office area... PUSHING A CART!

We sorted through files, he got rid of some, we split some with maintenance and the rest ended up on my desk.

Oh my poor desk.

I spent a couple hours today going through them. Of course, I had to purge old files that were already in my desk to make room for all of these. A lot of my old files are going to the Hospitality Department but we haven't had a chance to get together yet. I trained the admin who runs the database on a few things earlier this week but there's still a lot to do. 

We've attended our church going on 30 years and I've always approached it with an attitude of helping. "Let me put the tablecloths on the tables while you go to your office and make phone calls." "I can sit here and take the money while you address everyone's questions and put out fires." I've always looked for ways to volunteer, to just help. 

But now. Now I have to make sure my crew has the tools and equipment they need to set up for the event; I have to keep in touch with them to assist them where needed; I have to be available to 'put out fires' where the building is concerned: Do we have enough chairs for this event? Is the platform cleaned and ready for Sunday's service? Are there tables in the foyer that shouldn't be there, maybe left over from a previous event? Did anyone on my crew call in sick and will I need to set up this event or that one in their place?

And the cleaning! Oh, the amount of work it takes to clean a building this size! And I'm now in charge of it all.

It's a completely different mindset. And, I'm the head of a department. Looking back, I can see where the Lord has been preparing me for this. Little by little increasing my circle of influence and putting me in places of authority over more and more people. When I think about everything that's involved in this I get a little nervous, but deep down I'm so excited about how the Lord is going to use me in this position. You can bet I'll be praying for direction and guidance every step of the way!