No, I Will Not Do Your Job For You

I know how to do my job. If something should come up, pertaining to it, and I am not sure how to tackle it, I take it upon myself to figure it out. After all, it is MY responsibility. What is not my responsibility, is figuring out your job. This is where I butt heads with my coworkers.

I don't mind helping people. But when I am constantly interrupted because my coworker(s) encounter something they don't know how to do or are just nervous about doing themselves, they come to me. Now maybe this appears to be a good thing. Obviously they think I have the knowledge to deal with whatever it is they need to resolve. But when it comes in the way of my pile of jobs, I get frustrated.

During my busy time, I can have anywhere from 6 to 16 jobs running at a time. These jobs are usually at various stages of completion. Brochures, newsletters, letterhead, business cards...and more. It is my job to juggle these things. And I actually do quite well.

Here's my beef: Christian, non-profit organizations
They seem to be run so poorly. They should be run like a business. However, the ones I and others I know have encountered are horrible. Because these organizations employ Christian people, coworkers seem to think that everyone is there to help them with their job. Now, it is nice to help each other, but you should know how to do your job. When I say "no, I can't help you with that", they look at me in awe. Like the answer should always be "yes" and I am going against God's unwritten "yes" rule. I am juggling my own work load and rarely have time to pick up the pieces.

The things I am asked to do are simple, but seem to be never ending. Like today for instance. I was asked to follow instructions to go online and download an up-to-date Microsoft program. I could do this no problem. But this is the job of the front desk personnel. BUT, the front desk personnel is nervous about doing it. So she asked if I would. When I told her that I wasn't sure when I'd be able to find the time to do it between the 12 jobs I have on the go, I could almost see the terror in her face. Terror? Yes actual terror.

In my opinion, she needs to find a job that has less to do with technology. If you are that scared of it...you need to resign so someone with the proper qualifications can replace you.

Thankfully I will be going on maternity leave soon, and wont have to deal with these situations much longer. Although, I wouldn't put it past them to call me at times to ask how to do something or to ask me to come in to help. This is where caller ID will be my life-saver. My husband doesn't have a job at the moment and I am worried about finances, but I am perfectly willing to forfeit cable to avoid anymore frustrations from coworkers.

Natural Miracle

What I thought was the baby pushing against my ribs over the last couple weeks may actually be braxton hicks contractions. They are quite annoying, random and very uncomfortable at times, but not painful.

Braxton Hicks contractions are normal at this stage in pregnancy or as early as 16 weeks. They are the muscles of the womb tightening. The purpose is to tone the muscle fibers so they are ready for labor.

I can see why some women would be alarmed by these. But I have tried to prepare myself for the normal stages of pregnancy by knowing about things before they happen. I know I can't be 100% prepared by doing this...but I do think it helps. The more you know, the less you panic. That's the way I see it. So for now I'm just living day to day life normally - with the addition of all that comes with begin 34 weeks pregnant of course.

So far so good. This baby girl is doing great, I'm healthy, and everything is on schedule. But I have to admit, I wouldn't mind if she came in early or mid January. You're probably thinking this is because I'm hoping for a small baby - but that's not it at all. It's simply that I can't wait till she arrives. I know labor will be intense and life will be difficult to adjust to, but I'm not nervous. God designed us this way and all that comes with pregnancy is a natural miracle. I'm just going to try to ride the waves as best I can.

Stressed

Some days it's easy to be positive and look on the bright side - others not so much. Today is one of those other days. I just want to curl up into a ball and sleep the weekend away. It's tiring trying to put a positive spin on everything.

I am just not as excited for Christmas as I usually am. All this stress has sucked the life outta me. And this poor baby knows. On the days that I am stressed, she seems to move less. I've noticed this a few times over the past month.

It's funny. When we are teenagers, we can't wait to get out of our parents house, have our own money and live by our own rules. But at the time, we are clueless as to how difficult adult life can get. I know I am in a better place than some people. But when I'm in the midst of so much life change and interruption, it's hard to be positive all the time.

I take comfort in knowing that things wont always be this way. Things will get better, issues will be resolved and positive things will take place. I'm just waiting for this storm to pass.

No! It's A Secret

We know we're having a girl, so my husband and I have decided to keep her name a secret until she s born. This is driving some people nuts. Especially my mother. I find it amusing when she asks me what we decided on. After I respond with "it's a secret", she asks if I would tell her if she guessed. I still say no and laugh as she grumbles.

There is still the small chance that Baby Moon was wrong and we could have a surprise on our hands when the baby is born. So we are also deciding on a boy's name just in case. Although, I'm not sure what we'll do with all the girly stuff we've received so far. But we'll deal with that when and if it comes.

7 weeks and 1 day to go before my due date. I have to admit, I am so excited for her arrival, I hope she comes a couple weeks early. My pregnancy continues to be going well. I have hardly had any sickness, and the times I have been sick, I'm sure were a result of stress. The worst thing so far has been acid reflux. And that's ok with me. Even though it is irritating, there are just so many other things that I could be experiencing. Worse things! Like morning sickness, round ligament pain, sciatic nerve issues...I am thankful that both the baby and I are doing so well.

Low Tolerance

So I'm just getting ready to leave McDonalds when I notice this girl asking every person in the place if they'd give her money for food. I have to admit, seeing this made me leave much faster. I realize that some people need help and that we should be generous...but I wasn't in the greatest mood to begin with that day.

As I leave, I see in the corner of my eye that she has spotted me. I started to feel annoyed as she followed me out the door. As she followed me she said, "excuse me" a couple times, but I just kept walking towards the grocery store. Once inside, she was preoccupied by all the other people in the lot.

But when I came out a few minutes later, there she was. Her and her freshly dyed, lemon yellow hair were now smoking a cigarette. I witnessed her follow another lady to her car. As she grabbed her shoulder so she could ask her for money, the lady was startled. I could tell she didn't appreciate this desperate attempt.

As soon as she was denied, the beggar came towards me. I am nice to people sometimes. If someone asks for money for food, occasionally I will offer to buy them food. If asked for money for the bus, I will give them a bus ticket. What bothered me about this girl was that she had a full pack of smokes and had clearly just dyed her hair. So when she finally asked me, I said "no". "Maybe you should have used what you spent on those cigarettes and that crappy hair dye for food."

Yeah, I know. Horrible. Maybe it was my mood, that I'm 7 months pregnant or maybe it's just that I'm a jerk. So many younger people are out on Winnipeg streets trying to live free. They have no clue what it's like to work and feel good about being paid for their time. I don't understand why they'd rather beg than accomplish something more.

What a Crazy Couple Months

This year has been one of new beginnings...the happiest being the baby girl brewing in my belly since late April.

In the middle of October we decided to start house hunting with the hopes that we could be new home owners by Christmas. Sadly, owning a home is something we have to wait a couple years for now. Early November we found bed bugs in the apartment and shortly after that, my husband was informed of his termination at work. We quickly decided our next step was to find a new apartment. 3 weeks later, we found one, applied and were approved. Then in the beginning of December, we got word that our apartment was due to be fumigated again. There are many other irritating details we had to deal with along the way, but we're hoping that the beginning of January will bring something positive into our lives.

I know stress isn't good for this baby. So, I tried to deal with this end of year craziness with as little stress as possible. These troubles were out of our hands. There was nothing we could do once they arrived except move forward. I hope I can always have this view. It really does make things easier to handle.

Life is always going to throw surprises at you. The most important thing you can do is breathe, and think about your next move. Not wallow in the horrible state of things. That wont help you and in most cases, will make things worse. The only way to live is to take charge of the things within your power and leave the rest to the big man. He knows what's coming and will never put you through anything you can't handle. Trials make us stronger. Think back on your life and the situations you have faced. I bet you'll find that your trials have indeed made you stronger.

8 weeks and 3 Days To Go

I am 31 weeks and 4 days along now and I still haven't adjusted to the 6 trips to the bathroom a night. I try not to drink too much before bed, but being pregnant, that's when I am the thirstiest. Last night I was up almost every hour.

Being up so often, I notice things that I normally wouldn't. My favorite, is the random giggles that come from my sleeping husband. Life has been a bit of a struggle for us lately, especially him. So hearing his occasional giggle makes me smile. At least he's enjoying whatever it is his mind is inventing overnight.

Being up so often is annoying. But between the husband giggles and the baby kicks, I hardly have the time to be angry about not being able to fall back asleep.

I really do feel blessed to have this baby brewing. When I tell people this, they always talk about how bad things are going to be once the baby arrives. Like how tired I'll be. I am not naive. I know what's coming.

I wonder why people feel the need to stomp on my expectations. This is my first baby. I am not nervous about caring for her and I know it will be difficult at times. But so is everything else in life. If it's worth your time, it's going to require some effort. This is my time to be a mother. So let me be happy with the stages I'm in and let me get frustrated at times. I know in the end, I'll be happy that I've had the opportunity to be a mom. I am excited when I think of things to come, and I wont let anyone suck the life out of that excitement. You're welcome to have your opinions - just know that I will also have mine!