Job Title: Mom II
Start Date: September 18, 2012
Salary: Hugs and kisses
Job Description: Wiper of noses, washer of clothes, maker of beds. Disciplinarian, teacher, bump and scrape kisser. Cook, arbitrator, tucker-inner.
What do you like most about your job? Every day is a new day. I never know what challenges will present themselves; I never know what random rewards will occur. Watching you guys revel in your learning and growing is my favorite part of this job.
What do you dislike most about your job? No. No way. OK, fine. “Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?”
Do you feel that you have too much downtime during the workday? My time management abilities are excellent; however, they are rarely noticed or appreciated by my superiors. I work to ensure multiple deadlines are met daily and, as a result, downtime is rare.
How can we help you find a sustainable workload? Clean up your room. Sleep through the night. Eat your vegetables. Don’t hit your sister. Don’t tease your brother.
What opportunities for self-improvement would you like to have that go beyond your current role? Over the next year, I plan on working to improve myself. I would love to get back to the gym more often. Maybe I could read a book that has words containing three or more syllables.
What has been your greatest win in the past month? I do not rely on common methods to solve a problem, but address each situation with creative solutions. Remember when I convinced you both that the New Year would not come unless you were both asleep? That is creative problem solving at its finest!
What has been one challenge you bumped into this month? Whenever you need a fresh look at a problem, you come to me for a different perspective. My biggest recent challenge was when you hid your tablet behind your bed and then woke me up before dawn crying because you couldn’t find it. This was followed closely by an entire morning of you wailing about your lost tablet until your dad found it right where you put it.
Do you have a mentor in your role? I have multiple mentors. The moms and dads who make up my tribe help me to learn and grow every day. They also provide me with much needed stress relief when you two are entirely too much.
How would you assess communication in your department? I ensure a smooth flow of communication between departments. This is often made more difficult because small ears apparently are unable to discern the frequency of my voice unless I increase my volume and repeat myself multiple times. I may not make everyone comfortable with the way I communicate, but my focus is to get the job done, on time, with results.
What words would you use to describe our company culture? Chaotic beauty.
What have we done to help you do your job better? Every time you are kind to each other—kiss boo boos, hug a crying sibling, or provide comfort and love—these things give me hope that there is learning and growth taking place in our little department.
What have we done to hinder your job performance? That stunt you pulled last night—when you decided it was more fun to wander about your room with your flashlight than sleep—tops my list. This lovely morning is a close second, when missing all that sleep resulted in crabby, cranky children.
Do you feel you have the resources and tools you need to perform your job effectively? Wine and chocolate are fully stocked, so I’m good.
What are your long-range career objectives, and what are your plans to accomplish them? My main objective is to raise kind, intelligent, productive adults. My plans include continued love and support, combined with judicious use of “no” when necessary, and a dash of life lessons thrown in for good measure.
