So Much Better on the Replay

Watcha looking at? Yes, I'm talking. Yes, I'm alone. No, I'm not *just* talking to myself, I'm telling so-and-so how it is. Here's the deal - I'm so much better on the replay.

Bear with me and follow this brief exchange. We are in the Pilot heading somewhere. The husband is driving, I'm in the passenger seat and our daughter is in the back seat. We are discussing how to get me to HRevolution.

HRevolution happens to fall on the same weekend as the deer season opener. If I go to Kentucky and the husband goes hunting, who will watch the kid? One option is for him to bring the kid with him. He hunts with his brother and she can play with her cousin. The kid liked the idea and asked if she could sit in the deer stand. The quick exchange between dad and kid went something like this:

Dad: Sure you can. You just have to be very quiet.

Kid: I can be very quiet.

Dad: No talking, no whispering, no moving, we may not even look at each other for a bit.

Kid: Oh, I can do that. I do that to mom whenever I give her the silent treatment!

What?! She didn't miss a beat and it took all she (and we) had to not bust out laughing immediately. She held it together for about 5.2 seconds.

My kid is witty. I am not.

In the heat of the moment at work (rest or play ), I am just not quick enough to come up with the good comebacks. In the rare moments when they do appear on the tip of my tongue, my better judgement  kicks in and they stay right there.

It's me, it's the cross I must bear. If you need me, I'll be in my car giving so-and-so the business.

Office Shivas

When I look in the mirror and at my staff and see Office Shivas looking back at me, it's my signal to take a close look at how we work. 

The questions begin to flow. Are we, as a department, setting priorities, focusing on what's important and all heading in the same direction? In the positive sense of shedding old habits, is it time for us to change direction, for me to give up some control (*nervous shakes*) or to toss decisions we've outlived or outgrown? Is it time to add more staff?

What should I be seeing and what should I be hearing that I am not? If you could write a message to me on the white board, what would it be?