If I Just Lay Here

Three more weeks of work and only 31 days until we leave for Colorado. An intimidating thought, that.

I’ve finished painting at last. I did the bedroom and a couple touch-ups in the bathroom and downstairs this past weekend. I also rearranged the closets to make the room look a lot bigger, which is probably a good thing if Carmela wants to bring people in to look at the apartment. Unfortunately, it also means I don’t have space behind the narrow cabinet where I had cut off the corner. That’s where I was keeping quite a few things, so now my collection of bags is in a suitcase and the suitcases are all on top of the closets. I need to have Gina bring me some boxes. Her boyfriend can get them for free and I really need to start packing up some of this crap. I can bring the boxes down to the basement for the time being. Come to think of it, I have a big footlocker down there that I emptied out the weekend before, so I can use that too. Maybe for coats and towels and other things that won’t weigh it down too much.

I’ve been doing so much that it seems like I painted the living room a month ago now, when it’s only been a week. Hard to believe.

Did I mention that they hired my replacement? Her name is Mercedes and she’s starting next week. She’ll spend most of her time with me and some of it doing the computer training in the lounge. Most of the kids seem to like her, although she hasn’t met Brynn yet. She’s the one I’m most worried about, because she’s really really attached to me. As in, if someone comes in to give me a bathroom break, Brynn freaks out. I hope the two weeks with Mercedes is enough to get her used to her. Otherwise the transition is going to be really hard for her. Gina and I have talked about it and because Brynn’s part time, it’s harder to switch her over to Gina’s primary group. She’d have to switch Brynn and somebody else and get two kids by giving up one. It’s complicated. Made even more so by Connor leaving. His last day is the 27th and a new little girl will be starting the week after. Crazy.

I’m really going to miss these kids, especially Brynn and Elizabeth. My heart is already breaking over leaving them. Elizabeth hasn’t warmed up to Mercedes yet, which is weird for her, because she’s normally very personable. So far she’s just hidden behind my legs. I know she’ll be fine, but right now it makes me feel good, because Eileen told me that Elizabeth wasn’t going to let me go. LOL. Gina wants to have sort of a Goodbye, Liz/ Welcome, Mercedes party and invite the parents, so they can get to know her. During my conferences over the next few weeks I’m going to be taking notes with the parents so I can give Mercedes a good idea of what they want their kids to work on developmentally.

Alan’s getting ready to leave as well. He’s going on his final FTX (Field Training Exercise) today and will be out in the field for the next two weeks. He hasn’t told me much about it, but from what I’ve gathered, they go camp out and pretend their in a combat-type situation and have to do their jobs. Alan’s job will entail briefing a group of pretty high-ranking officers. He’s nervous, but he only got assigned that group because he’s kicked so much ass in his classes. I think he’ll do great. One of his instructors told them that in their MOS, there’s no such thing as too many questions, which makes it perfect for Alan, because he’s always asking questions. Even though I don’t like that there’s things he can’t tell me, I think this MOS was a really good choice.

Anyway, I have to finish getting ready for work, even though I wish I could call out. I need another day of weekend to get some more work done around here.

~Liz