Not Every Day At Work is a Perfect One

I seriously thought about calling in sick today, which is my clue that I'm feeling like I'm in a rut.  The only thing that kept me from picking up the phone is the fact that I would have to deal with my MIL, who is essentially living here for going on two years(when someone asks if they can stay with you, just until they "get back on their feet", say NO).   So I got up, got dressed, and went to work.  It wasn't all downhill from there, but there were some definite low points, including a lovely bbq dinner at the Salt Lick in Driftwood that never happened(I know that it is Lent, but I think that God understands that good bbq is an exception, since He invented that wonderful, melt in your mouth experience).

I got written up for not going to some meeting that was held after work hours when all parents should be at home spending time with their children; I haven't gone to this particular after hours meeting for the last five or six years, but this is the first time I've been written up for it. This activity fell under "other duties as assigned", which is a cheap-assed way of getting employees to do arbitrary things like mowing your lawn.  If I lived in the town where I worked, if I got staff development credit, or if I were presenting at this meeting, I would probably have no problems with attending.  For years, I worked weekends that I didn't have to, stayed late to do trainings, and did lots of "extras" that I never even got a thank you for, although I did get a "stipend" of like 50 bucks a month after taxes. Seriously, what is the point?  So I feel like I've done my time and I should have a little leeway.

Now I have a child and my evenings during the week are sacrosanct.  I am tired when I walk in the door, but spending time with Zane is stress relief, mostly.  We cuddle and play and it's pure heaven for me.  There would have to be a darn good reason for me to miss out on that, and driving all the way back to work to be a seat warmer is not a good reason.  So it's highly likely that I will be written up next year for the very same reason.  And that is okay with me.  I take responsibility for my choices, and I choose to be with my son.  I don't think that my boss understands that she's making herself look bad by suddenly holding people accountable when she never has before, but I've told her over and over that she needed to start writing people up, and if I am one of those people who needs to be held accountable, that's what should happen.  I would be the worst sort of hypocrite if I expected others to be written up, but not me.   I may not like the rules, but there they are. 

I really would like to work in a place where I spend the majority of my time working with kids.  That's why I got the degree in school psychology in the first place.  Instead I spend a LOT of time doing...clerical work.  That's right.  I spend about three days out of five scheduling meetings, filling out notices, putting notices in envelopes, addressing envelopes, and calling parents to remind them about whatever it was that I mailed to them.  Some of that time is also spent putting papers together, making copies, and sending those copies to various individuals.   It sucks, to be blunt.  

*sigh*  I am glad that today is Friday so I can get my "roll with the flow" attitude back, at least for one more week until Spring Break.