Okay, so everyone wants to know how work is. It's fine. It's not as hard as I thought it was going to be...emotionally anyway. It's only been three days and I feel like I never left, except for the fact that I keep hanging up on people because I can't remember how to use the phone.
My job has changed quite a bit. I've gone from being a one person fundraising department to actually being a true Director of Development in that I now have a staff of two. They're both great people and great workers, so it should work out really well. I'm looking forward to expanding my managerial skills.
I've noticed that the office dynamics have changed since I've been gone. The staff is larger, so it seems a little more difficult to know what everyone's working on and tie it all together. On the other hand it means we have the capacity to take advantage of new opportunities.
Also while I've been gone, the office has been totally redecorated and painted. The hallways are moccassin yellow, the boardroom and one office are a beautiful terracotta colour (am I spelling these words right?) and one office is a kind of sunset orange. However, my office has not been touched. It's still an awful shade of greyish beige and my desk is still a pre-computers antique with drawers that don't work and painted a sickly colour of grey in an attempt to make it blend in with the walls. Anyway, we've put in requests to have a new desk donated and I get to decide on a spiffy new paint colour for my walls. Any suggestions? I want something cheerful, bright and with a positive vibe.
Devon ate cat food last night. We were at my parents and, while we were all distracted by something else, she scurried over to the cat dish and scooped up a handful of kibble. Luckily my mother noticed her happily chewing away on it. I ran over and managed to pry it out of her mouth. Devon was not pleased! She quite liked it.
Note that I didn't remove it from her mouth out of disgust, but rather out of a fear of her choking on it.
P.S. My first day back at work was fine. Everyone seems to be making a big effort not to scare me away. Thanks guys :)
Today is my last day of maternity leave. Yep, that's right, I head back to work tomorrow. I'm feeling a real mix of emotions. After all, my 8 or so hours at work tomorrow will be the longest I've ever been away from Devon since she was born (I'm not including sleepovers at Granny and Grandpa's since I slept through those). I'm going to be wondering what she's up to every minute of the day. I'm used to knowing!
I do look forward to work itself. I love what I do and the people I work with are amazing. It will take me a few weeks to get up to speed though and that might be a bit stressful.
Fortunately, it looks like we may have found daycare. It will be a huge relief if it gets finalized. I'll keep you posted.
In other news, Devon is starting to understand a lot of what we say. She gives kisses on demand and when I say "Where's Gorby?" (Gorby being the cat), she looks all around until she finds him. Did I mention that she meows? Whenever the cats start meowing, she copies them. I'll have to get it on tape. It's a classic.
