ROBIEWANKENOBIE

this is the sound of me. me knocking on wood. me superduperseriously knocking on wood. is that blasphemy? the wood knocking? i'm trying to get a handle on those parameters. theLeon is adorable. i only get sweet kisses on the top of my head when he comes to visit. not even a chaste kiss goodbye. because of God. i hate to burst his bubble, but God is the one who invented it.

anywhoo...the job of awesome. honestly, i didn't know that i could work at a place that valued me. that treated me like the cat's pajamas. but it exists! for true!

you see, the coffee shop was starting to grate on me. first of all, when i was sent to siberia (deathly in need of good baristas), i discovered that the new manager was less than honorable. hrm. i have trouble being part of a team that has to follow someone who doesn't believe in what they do. the team? awesome. but i'm just not a lockstep follower kinda gal. so first suck? manager. second suck? the hours. man, i'm just too old to transition from first to second shift and back again. plus? i never got outta that joint before 11:30 or 12:00. i'm old people, and i can't take that kinda crap. thirdlyness? i really am just too old to be on my tootsies that long. i remember being able to waitress for hours and hours back in my youth. which was. well. *cough* a few years ago. to sum up: bad manager. bad hours. old as the hills.

then one day i was moseying past this church (where we all park and then walk to get our kids). i know. i know. hang on, though, it's a story with a happy ending. at any rate, they had a sign up in the window - looking for a church secretary. i don't really know much about secretarying, but i figured, what the hell? uh, heck. and sent off an email that evening. they interviewed me the next day and bada boom, bada bing, here i sit.

now, listen. i know that this church thing can be a bad scene, but i'm kinda fond of the Jesus thing when done right. which means that i love this church. 'cause they're open and affirming, generously donate to people in need, host many diverse groups (like the homeless medical outreach, AA, etc.), and volunteer like nobuddys bidness. you know, putting their money where their mouths are and such.

and they treat me so well i can hardly stand it. the first week i was here? they were giving out Christmas bonuses. holy cow, people. they gave me a bonus. when i looked at them all gobsmacked? they said, "well, you're not planning on leaving anytime soon, are you?" if i make a mistake? they give me the benefit of the doubt. how weird is that? and they are flexible about my schedule. the schedule itself makes me swoony. i drop the kids off at school, walk a block and a half, and then have an hour to myself before the work day begins. i'm off mondays. i'm off at night. i'm off WEEKENDS. this is crazy, right? crazy. but the best part is...if there is a weird hitch in the school schedule (say voting day, for example) they will let me trade my monday off.

if all the awesome weren't enough, my boss is an absolute peach. the peachiest of peaches. we're the only people in the building during the day, which makes things more fun. we call each other. we visit each other. we email each other. how silly is that? and the teasing? so. much. teasing. plus i love a gal who is excited about decorating for pentecost, worm bins for vbs, and who is going to be the next american idol.

you might say? that i'm blessed.

::runs to knock on some more wood::