The March 2009 version of Glenn would be very angry at me right now. Six months ago, the thought of coming back to work for my organization again was inconceivable. I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck. I couldn’t imagine returning to a job that left me so intellectually stagnant. No way would I be willing traipse through the snow for another six month Boston winter. Not a chance I would tolerate another year of Friday trainings. Why would I continue to attach myself to an organization where I constantly found myself disagreeing with leadership decisions and whose long-term financial viability I was beginning to question? I had all but booked a moving truck to take me to Austin.
Yet, here I am, back for another year. And my deep, dark, dirty secret is that I am actually very happy about it.
No matter where you work, it is always easy to find something to complain about. Salary, respect, professionalism, personnel decisions, hypocrisy, upper management decisions. If there is a workplace topic that you can think of, my co-workers and I have griped about it. Some of it has been justified; some of it has probably been petty. Regardless, it is clear that we often are missing the point: We are lucky enough to work with the same people we hang out with. We are heroes to many of the kids we work with. We get paid to play kickball (and 4-square and tag) for a living.
Seriously, how cool is that? Most people have to give up these activities after they turn twelve. I’m a newly minted thirty and I get to play whatever game I want every day. I doubt you get to go to work and play team handball all morning on a whim. And have you ever had a room of 6-year-olds cheer for you just because you entered a room? If you haven’t, I highly recommend it. It is better than coffee for getting you going in the morning. I highly doubt that I would have earned that reaction at staff meetings if I had become an attorney.
Thursday is the first day of school. I’m not 100% ready, but I have to admit…my life really isn’t that bad.
What I’m Listening To: GFC – Albert Hammond, Jr., Tightrope – Yeasayer, Sleeping Aides and Razorblades – The Exploding Hearts
