Phone Bank

Sitting here all evening alone - listening to the phone ring and ring. Love caller ID - if I don't know who it is, I simply ignore. If they leave a message - great! If not, that's OK, too.... Most are political calls....I call them 'phone bank' calls now 'cuz I've been phone banking for a cause of my own. Phone banking is signing up to make phone calls and 'pitch' something to a voter. I have new respect for people who are volunteering to phone total strangers and gauge their position on issues, candidates, etc. If I do accidentally answer, I am sincere and very attentive - in recognition of the person's efforts. But most nights, I'm grateful we now have Caller ID and ignoring them is so easy. Three voice mails so far.

J. and H. are in Oakland. I think B. is at school but I'm not positive. I am fading very quickly and will be heading upstairs shortly. It's only 8PM but I've been up at four two days in a row and by 8, I'm dead.

The weekend was uneventful which is nice and is back to what we consider 'the norm'. Having said that, I'm sure this weekend will be anything but normal but oh well. We're wrestling with strange weather....chores we put off on Saturday were impossible to do on Sunday 'cuz it was raining all day. A slow, steady drizzle that freshened the air and made for a nice, cozy day inside. I made cinnamon rolls - they were not stellar. Which doesn't mean they weren't eaten 'cuz they were - boys will eat anything, especially if there's frosting involved. I made up for the so-so breakfast (the milk was too warm and the yeast was 'killed', I think) by making fantastic chicken fried steaks for dinner. They were excellent - possibly the best I've ever made. They were so good that when one of the boys had a midnight snack and left some of the steak on his plate in the sink, the cat jumped onto the counter and fetched the steak out of the sink and took it into the living room! Yuck! I left the house yesterday morning in the pitch black and didn't notice the big blob of meat on the floor - J. found it when he got up.

It was a challenging work day - and I tried hard to remind myself that all things are temporary. Change is hard for people. Some folks would prefer to not be managed. Others expect of everyone around them what they refuse to model themselves. Leadership is hard work. Being a leader means you lead even when you're totally sick of leading. Even when those you are leading follow kicking and screaming the entire way. It's hard. And I just have to stick with it. It's what I'm paid to do.

And I have to remember that for every person I encountered today who was unhappy with a decision I made or disagreed with the direction we are taking on some things, there are always many more who appreciate what I do and how I do it - including my boss. So it all sort of balances out in the end -

(from Positively Positive on Facebook)