Honey, I Lost The Kid

There is nothing lonelier than seeing other people go about their day completely unaware that you've just been to a spot where you expected to see your child waiting for you and she wasn't there.

Where is she? Why isn't she here? Did we get our signals crossed? Did she bike left and I ran right? Is she hurt?

Maybe that's her biking up the hill. She always waits for me at the top of the hill. She's not there. She likes to ride fast down the hill, I am sure she'll be there at the bottom waiting for me. She's not there. I look around. She wouldn't get this far ahead of me. We've been biking/running these routes for 3 summers and it is not like us to be separated like this.

Where is Tarah? I am about 2 miles into a 4 mile loop and as far away from the start/finish as I can be. Do I go back . . . or keep moving forward?

There is a strip mall up ahead so I run to a phone closest to the bike path and call a friend. Please help me, I can't find Tarah. I get back on the path hoping she'll see me. I don't see her anywhere. My head starts to spin while my world stands still. Then panic strikes. I flag down one car and then another. One very kind woman <a mom> quickly begins to drive the bike route while another gentleman calls 911.

Within minutes, it all comes together. As I am on the phone with the dispatcher, my friend's husband pulls up and tells me his wife is with Tarah back at the car and she is fine. The other mom returns -   someone had seen Tarah and she offers to take me there. I tell her Tarah is now with a friend of mine and thank her profusely for stopping and looking. The gentleman with the phone left before I had a chance to properly thank him. After speaking with the police, I head to my daughter.

With my permission, Tarah had taken a quick detour to bike around the school parking lot as I kept running. When she headed back to the trail and did not see me, she thought that I was ahead of her. She biked to catch up with me and when she did not see me, headed to our finishing point thinking I was already there. When I was not, she opened her bike pack, took out the car keys and my BB and was going to call a family friend in town.

See, the kid had the BB the whole time. So when I ran to the first phone to call a friend, I could have called Tarah. When I asked the gentleman to call 911, I could have asked him to call Tarah. I did not know where my little girl was and I had to find her. I wasn't thinking straight.

Tarah kept her wits much better than I did. It's cool that she thought I was running so fast she had to bike to catch up with me. Cool, but not reality. What's real is that this little girl is the very center of my entire world.

Honey, I found the kid. 

Seeking Advice: Getting Over Being Passed Over for Promotion

An employee wrote in and is very frustrated being asked to fill in for supervisors when nobody is available but getting passed over for promotions when it really counts.

A shortened version of what was submitted is below:

I really appreciated reading this post, Tired of Your Job? Maybe it's Time to Ask the Tough Questions. I have been focused on college for two years now, while at the same time building a good reputation with my job. However, along the way, I have become what I like to call a bounce-ball supervisor. I am there when they need me, but when promotion time comes, I do not get the raise and the position.

However, they are quick to point out when there is nobody available that "I am the man for the job." After almost two and a half years, I feel used and tired. I want to stay, but am tired of being called a good leader and then not promoted when good leaders are needed.

If anyone has a different outlook, please advise me.

My advice is to talk with your supervisor or someone in the company who would be in a position to observe you day to day about why he or she thinks you are not getting selected for promotions. It may be something you are doing <or not doing> or it could have absolutely nothing to do with you at all. It's easy to spin within our own thoughts about what we think other people's motives are and a few facts can make a world of difference. Listen to what they tell you - do not argue, defend or challenge. Take the feedback for what it is. Getting over being passed over is not easy, but it can be done. Not all employers have nefarious motives but if yours does, it may be time to move on. 

HR professionals, what advice do you have for this reader?