As I re-read my original post on Kristie's resignation from the School, I realized that I made it sound a whole lot more negative than it really should be. I have been immensily critical of the School and will remain more than just a little bit so in the future. But I think what's missing from a lot of this is just how appreciative both Kristie and I are (and have and will be) of her job there. God clearly controlled her getting the job and her keeping it as long as she did. And he provided her this recent job. And the wonderful friends that she has made working there. And it was those friendships that she was the most worried about damaging and in her resignation "process", it was those friendships that caused the most tears.
She has been lucky that her direct boss, Holly, is also her good friend. A good enough friend to confide in on almost every topic, save the fact that she was looking for and, ultimately had accepted, a new job. So the conversation was loaded with a lot of tears and a ton of guilt. She offered the standard "is there anything that we can do?"...to which Kristie correctly (and not maliciously) answered with a "no". I say not maliciously because there truly is nothing that "can" be done. They can't give her a bunch more money; it's not about the money for one (okay, actually, it's always about the money). It's illogical to think that an operation that is literally scraping along financial would have the resources to make it worth her while...so that's why it's not about the money. It does create an interesting paradox: they give her a ton of money to stay, to generate that money, they raise tuition prices, families pay less than they are now, creating a collection nightmare...which is perhaps the primary reason that she's leaving. Again, it's not about the money.
Nor could she ask them to re-jigger their organization to fit her. Everyone there has a job (actually many, many jobs). They (as an organization) have said that they need one person to do these duties. Period. Kristie is merely stating that she's not that one person. She won't advocate that her position should be split into pieces...anymore at least. She made that noise earlier in the year to no avail. Now it's simply time for her to move on and the School can/will get to figure things out. But since these are people, friends really, and not a faceless organization, it's been a lot harder for her.
Many of the powers that be expressed great sorrow and loss in her leaving. She got a lot of "we don't know what we're going to without you". She got a lot of apologies over the fact that they "should've done something". She even got a few "it's because of me, isn't it?". But she hung in there like a champ and is genuinely excited to be able to move on.
The girls are a little reluctant to embrace this change, especially Allison. I think she truly liked knowing that Mom was a player at the School, and it was very convenient for her. Her exact statement of concern was over the fact that if she forgets her lunch or her homework, she could have her Mom go get it. Sounds like this 15 year old needs to gain a little more responsibility, and I think this is the perfect scenario. Kelly is a little more ambivalent over the change, I think she is more focussed on the repercussions of the change. Kelly is very anxious (and not in a good way) about driving. Kristie has always been available to drive to and from school...it was one of the greatest features of her job there. Now it appears that Kelly is now the designated driver to school and it will be her job to take her sister to school. And I think that is what's on her mind, rather than everything else.
In the end, we are truly thankful that God blessed us with Kristie's job at the school. The closeness to the girls and the operations of the School were tremendous. She gained a ton of accounting and finance knowledge and experience. Her working there opened up many doors for me, quite literally since she had a key to the School. It also allowed our family to integrate into the School community with greater influence and speed. And it's that community that we are looking to "right-size". Last year, I was way, way, way too involved. And Kristie was equally but oppositely uninvolved. We are both excited to fix both of our extremes and meet in a happier middle.
She has been lucky that her direct boss, Holly, is also her good friend. A good enough friend to confide in on almost every topic, save the fact that she was looking for and, ultimately had accepted, a new job. So the conversation was loaded with a lot of tears and a ton of guilt. She offered the standard "is there anything that we can do?"...to which Kristie correctly (and not maliciously) answered with a "no". I say not maliciously because there truly is nothing that "can" be done. They can't give her a bunch more money; it's not about the money for one (okay, actually, it's always about the money). It's illogical to think that an operation that is literally scraping along financial would have the resources to make it worth her while...so that's why it's not about the money. It does create an interesting paradox: they give her a ton of money to stay, to generate that money, they raise tuition prices, families pay less than they are now, creating a collection nightmare...which is perhaps the primary reason that she's leaving. Again, it's not about the money.
Nor could she ask them to re-jigger their organization to fit her. Everyone there has a job (actually many, many jobs). They (as an organization) have said that they need one person to do these duties. Period. Kristie is merely stating that she's not that one person. She won't advocate that her position should be split into pieces...anymore at least. She made that noise earlier in the year to no avail. Now it's simply time for her to move on and the School can/will get to figure things out. But since these are people, friends really, and not a faceless organization, it's been a lot harder for her.
Many of the powers that be expressed great sorrow and loss in her leaving. She got a lot of "we don't know what we're going to without you". She got a lot of apologies over the fact that they "should've done something". She even got a few "it's because of me, isn't it?". But she hung in there like a champ and is genuinely excited to be able to move on.
The girls are a little reluctant to embrace this change, especially Allison. I think she truly liked knowing that Mom was a player at the School, and it was very convenient for her. Her exact statement of concern was over the fact that if she forgets her lunch or her homework, she could have her Mom go get it. Sounds like this 15 year old needs to gain a little more responsibility, and I think this is the perfect scenario. Kelly is a little more ambivalent over the change, I think she is more focussed on the repercussions of the change. Kelly is very anxious (and not in a good way) about driving. Kristie has always been available to drive to and from school...it was one of the greatest features of her job there. Now it appears that Kelly is now the designated driver to school and it will be her job to take her sister to school. And I think that is what's on her mind, rather than everything else.
In the end, we are truly thankful that God blessed us with Kristie's job at the school. The closeness to the girls and the operations of the School were tremendous. She gained a ton of accounting and finance knowledge and experience. Her working there opened up many doors for me, quite literally since she had a key to the School. It also allowed our family to integrate into the School community with greater influence and speed. And it's that community that we are looking to "right-size". Last year, I was way, way, way too involved. And Kristie was equally but oppositely uninvolved. We are both excited to fix both of our extremes and meet in a happier middle.