Like riding a bike.....

I have been back at work for one whole week now and its just like the saying - its just like riding a bike -you never forget how. But for me - going back to work is probably more like the last time I got my big frame on a bike - not a pretty sight, very unsteady and my thighs started to burn faster than you could say "giddy up" :-) So going back to work has been like that! :-) Well, maybe not so dramatic but definitely an interesting ride so far.

As you know - the three people that read my blog - make that four because I email it directly to Mr M ;-) I have been off work for eight months... which in the life of a reduced-to-one income family is one pile of unpaid bills too long - so going back to work has been a godsend in that sense....

Here are the things that I have learnt about getting back onto this bike called employment.

1) Be happy to have a job
I thought that when I finished work, with my set of qualifications and experience, I would be marketable, and therefore anyone would be happy at the least and possibly falling over themselves at the most :-) to have me on their staff. Well, after my first rejection, I thought ok - so I didn't want to work there - but after the third one without making a short list - I knew I was in big do-do. The trouble, as the days moved to weeks and months is that there are a lot of people out there that are just as marketable if not more, and we are all competing in a job market the size of a broom closet.. Added to my concern was my realisation that I am getting older as well, and that wasn't hard enough I was competiting with kids that are just out of university - fresher, less experienced and therefore possibly cheaper to hire. True, I have my Masters degree - but really, even that qualification is aging..... so when this particular job came up and I went on to interview - I was very concious of how blessed I was to even have got that far! I will always be happy to have a job.

2) I never want to forget
My sister asked me a really good question that stumped me and I have kept it in my mind ever since. She asked me if I was going to start spending stupendously again - well, these weren't her words but mine but you get the idea ;-) and I answered - "I am never going back there again, because I know what it is like to go without!".... So as I have just spent more in the weekend than I have in the past eight months - I HAVE to remember what is like to go without - otherwise I haven't learnt anything!!

3) The joy of money
Recently, I was paid for some contract work I was doing and the first thing I did was get uniforms for my sons and some clothes that they needed and it made be happy. I took my son to A & E and paid for that and it brought me joy because a few months earlier my other son had to sit his illness out until I could get to a cheap Dr. Having money has brought joy, and I only experience this joy because I have known what it was like to have none.

4) Things are things
Lessons are repeated because people like myself need to be reminded every now and then... and this little episode of mine has been no different... A week or so before my mother passed away I wanted to buy her something for mother's day. I remember being in a shop in the Sylvia Park mall when this overwhelming realisation came upon me that there was NOTHING worth buying because she was not going to be able to take it with her!! That was five years ago, and I had forgotten that. But after being out of work - I was reminded again, that things are things.

5) Priorities
Before I finished work I remember saying "I don't know when my children were no longer my priority". When they were little I had to be there when they finished school and then that turned into being away days, nights, weekends, and just not being around only to wake up one day and all of a sudden they were what I called "self raising flowers". Although said in jest, it cut me deep because being a mother is my one thing that I want to do well..... so I finished work and sorted out my priorities and now putting that into action is in play. I am doing really well 8 days later and look forward to building on the great start of coming home, leaving work behind and being present for the family ;-) There is one thing I know for certain - failure is not an option this time round because I have some dear friends and a all-seeing sister to keep an eye on me!!

So these are my lessons for my first week back at work.... it really is just like riding a bike - you never forget how to it... and no matter how ugly it might look - it's all about the ride. Ask me how I'm going after six months ;-)

Yours in friendship,

Mxo

The highs and lows of my job....

I have resigned from my job. It was a great run while it lasted and it was time to move on which I am equally looking forward to doing. Consequently,  I was privileged to have been a guest of honour at my farewell dinner where thoughts and stories were shared and I was honoured by the kind words that were spoken...

Here are some of my top five memories/stories...

1) The funniest

An incident came across our senior management desk which I will remember forever. In short, a ball had smashed a stained window of one of our beautiful buildings. The window was an intricate pane that we were unsure of where and when it would be able to be replaced..... A claim was requested from the kaiako (teacher) of the tauira (student) that kicked the ball (and had no cause to be doing so - as his course was not a sports one) that smashed the window. The claim came through and I tell you no lies - the words that make me smile to to this day, are found in the answer to the question what happened?, to which the written answer was "the window picked up the ball and pushed it through the window...." The wind ;-) and no there was no reports of cyclones or tornadoes that day.

2) The sadest

As I worked for such a large organisation - there was inevitably going to be losses - of which were experienced with the deaths of a colleague, fathers, mothers (including mine), sisters, brothers and even babies. In fact I met the smallest tupapaku (body) in my life during my service and more than that, I my life was touched as I saw the physical and emotional turmoil and pain of his mama - of who remains in my thoughts to this day. Next to this is when a tauira took his own life - that was a tragedy and was again one of ths sadest times of my employment. 

3) The hardest

Over the years I have had to inform people that they were going to be made redundant. I have had to do this on so many occasions that I can't recall the number, but what I can do is remember how hard - not in terms of skills required to do it, but in actually informing someone that their livelihood was over. It was sobering, and no matter how many times I did (and without training) - it was still the hardest. In fact when I saw the movie Up in the Air - I totally related to it... totally.

4) The best

I loved the vision of the organisation I worked for and will always be privileged to have been part of it for so long.... which was whanau transformation through education. This was no more evident than at the graduation ceremonies that are held every year. I will always remember the people the crossed the stage so happy in their achievements acompanied by the calls from the audience of their whanau (family). I was always stirred by the pride of the families as they did a karanga, or shared waiata or haka.

5) The places

The one thing that I will miss about my job are the places that I have had the privilege to visit. Being a regional position I had the opportunity to travel throughout the Tainui rohe and saw things and been to places that I had never been before. Included in this are the many Marae throughout four iwi which will always be a highlight. Through work I have also travelled throughout the country and stayed in accomodation that I would never have had the chance to before, including Sydney and Melbourne. But I have to say that nothing will ever take the place of climbing Taupiri maunga to celebrate Matariki this year - now that was priceless.

So I thank the people I worked with, many of whom I will never forget - because without the them (and they know who they are) there would have been no memories. 

Yours in friendship,

Mxo