Bad and good news

Leaving the train discussion, it's time to comment about other things. I told someone that this has been the worst work week I've had since school started in the fall. I am in a situation at one school where there's a power struggle, and the "winner" of the power struggle, which wasn't me, managed to go behind my back and set up two meetings to take control of a situation which was my responsibility to take care of.

This person managed to convince 3 people higher on the food chain than either her or I that she could handle the situation and that my input was neither needed, wanted, nor welcomed, and hence, two meetings were held without me and sort of behind my back, during which major decisions regarding a particular student were made. I wonder what is written in the blank beside my name on all of the paperwork where it says, "psychologist". Even as I type this, I can hardly believe that someone was devious enough to do this to not just another person, but to ME, a person who has gotten along with 99% percent of the people I've ever worked with my whole life.

So of course, my reaction is one which rock and rolls from being aghast, to being amused, to being angry, to being hurt. I need to figure out what to do, and to that end, a book I picked up on my recent train trip from a store in Michigan is being helpful. The book only cost me 3.00, it was on clearance, and because it looked like an interesting title, I bought it, never dreaming I would be reading it so soon. The title is, "Working With You Is Killing Me." I'm reading about strategies which can be used to deal with all manner of people that make you crazy in the workplace, and so far, it's been helpful. Right now, the strategy I'm learning about is how to "unhook" from the situation the controlling annoying person tries to put you in.

In other news, this weekend our church is having its annual "women's retreat", a yearly gathering of women, sort of like a big slumber party, but also with a spiritual emphasis. I've been helping to plan these now for 10 years and I always say, about this time, I'm not doing this again!, and then somehow, I always do it again. These retreats have been wonderful, and this one promises to be no exception.

My oldest turns 28 Sunday. She was born on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1980, and I'll have to blog about her next. She's something else!