How you know you have a good job: a huge opportunity to run a summer teen writing program comes your way. The brand-new executive director Cindy says, "go for it!" Your boss Jacques says "here are some awesome folks your kids can meet-- how about Stephen King and Josh Hanagarne?!" The grantwriter Kathy writes a fantastic grant with you. The store manager Laura orders you t-shirts and books, and gives kids free sandwiches on their first day if they forgot their lunches. The visitors services managers Grace and Rebecca unlock doors and reschedule programs so your kids have a place to sit. The education director Craig hooks you up with cheap laptops. The finance director Cindy cuts you checks at the last minute. The curatorial staff Mallory, Patti, and Steve spend hours and hours teaching the kids everything they want to know about Twain. The development director Tracy lets you borrow her car for a field trip in the pouring rain when walking is impossible. The facilities rental manager Jeff sets you up with fancy tableclothes for the final reception. The security staff keeps everything under lock and key, so we lost no laptops (or kids for that matter). Now the kids are gone and everything is put away, and I find myself so humbled by the fact that I could not have run this program without a kind and lovely group of friends that I happen to work with. My coworkers are amazing and, most importantly, never said to me "wtf are you doing right now?" (even when that was deserved) but instead always said "how can I help?" I know how lucky I am. Thank you all.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 19:03:00 +0000