First Day on the Job

Yesterday, our second week of campers arrived just as I was answering a never ending stream of phone calls from board members. They were being supportive, but it was still a pain in the neck because I had to keep running off so I could speak privately, so as parents were arriving, and buses were unloading kids, and staff were running crazy trying to finish up last minute cabin set up and such, I was little help, which was stressful because I wanted to be there, greeting parents, answering questions, etc.

Once the phone finally calmed down, I was confronted by the most high maintenance parent I've yet to meet (and this is my 9th summer, so I've met a lot of parents). She had a few concerns, one being that her 8 year old had two international counselors (she was concerned about the language barrier, although both are from London, so I assured her their English was fine). And then she burst into tears. And then grandma burst into tears. And then grandpa got choked up and I was standing there with three crying adults and a mortified 8 year old who was whining, "you're the only parent still here." I spent a good deal of time calming her down and assuring her that we would take care of her child. She wanted to know where all of the adults were (um, hello, Interim Exec), and I assured her we were a young but very qualified staff. She eventually left, still slightly hysterical, but at least away from me.

At lunch, the head cook let me know that one of the kitchen crew girls has an attitude and she needed me to meet with her. And as she said that, a child vomited all over the floor next to the lunch line. I was dry heaving while cleaning up, so my dad took over. After lunch, I met with the head cook and a VERY hostile 18 year old. I wanted to smack her, but instead I did my best impression of a grown up and explained the concept of professionalism and not screaming at co-workers. I was patient and later, our head cook told me she was impressed. I think the 18 year old is going to quit, because she didn't completely get it, but I was proud of myself for being a really good Interim Executive (by the way, that hasn't gotten old yet, so, yes, I am going to repeat it a lot).

After lunch, the crying parent (I gave her my cell and email) called to let me know she was back and could she just have a few more minutes of my time. So I spent the next 45 minutes on an extended camp tour, providing more counseling and calming her and the grandparents down. I think it worked because after that, she left with a smile instead of sobbing. I have since spoken to her 3 times on the phone, and she's doing much better. Her kid, meanwhile, is absolutely content and told me, "she worries too much". Uh huh, to say the least.

After that, the board member who was sent to check up on me/show support (and also to pack my boss's stuff) arrived. I really appreciated the fact that they wanted me to know I wasn't alone and I understood why they needed to send someone. But it was just more time away from me doing what I was supposed to be doing. I helped her pack and took her around camp. None of my staff knew who she was or why she was here, and I was a little stressed to be entertaining her in the middle of the crazy day, but she was wonderful and it really did make me feel supported having her here.

I spent the rest of the day scurrying around, from this to that. And then at praise and worship time, I took the staff and made the announcement that our boss had quit. Some were un-phased, one congratulated me on my promotion, and there were a few who have known him a long time, and they took it hard. I know it was hard for them to be surprised, and the answer of "resigned for personal reasons" is hard to deal with when they had just seen him that morning and he was happy and busy. So I let them cry and hug and stay away from campers for a while. I told them they could come and talk to me and that everything was going to work out.

Meanwhile, the guy who fixes boats came to meet with me (word had already spread, I think from our head cook, into town and he already knew). We talked about the cost of fixing some of our boats and he gave me some advice and at the end, he shook my hand, and I think officially welcomed me into being in charge, because he said, "alright kid, it's you. I'll be in touch, but you're calling the shots." Um... thanks I guess...

By 10pm, I finally started on schedules and at that point the three crying counselors had moved from staring out at the lake to in the chapel, one playing piano and the others staring off. By that time, I'd pretty much reached the end of my sympathy. He's not dead, and the melodramatic heartache was just too much after such a day. I wanted to go in and tell them to suck it up and move on and deal. Instead, I went in, and patiently had a conversation about how, sometimes bad things happen in life, but with time, it works out for the best. And it's probably good that he is with his family and it might seem weird or bad now, he will be happier eventually. They were struggling with the fact that he didn't say goodbye, it was so abrupt, that I had no answers to give them. I know that not knowing is difficult, for them, but there's also not much I can do about it.

It was a difficult conversation for me, because I am so angry at him. I wanted to yell at them not to cry, because he's a jerk who had crazy mood swings, and the reason he's gone is because he was selfish and hurt this camp with his poor choices. And now I am left alone to lead crying counselors, to clean up his messes and to be nice the whole time. I didn't yell, I was patient, and when they finally calmed down and were ready to go back to their groups, I was so relieved, because I made it through the whole night patiently and with strength and maturity. I whined to myself as I worked on schedules until 1am, but to everyone else, I was calm, cool and collected.

When I finally got into my room to collapse into bed, I realized that the carpet had tiny ants EVERYWHERE and that made me laugh (because after a day like that, what else can you do?). I sucked them up in the vacuum and went to bed. Day one as Interim Executive Director complete. Holy Cow.