My “Big Girl” Job
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June 6, 2014, 12:40 pm
Filed under: Middle Age, Misc. Humor, Posts | Tags: adulthood, children, communication, employment, humor, jobs, Middle-Age, office, office etiquette, preschool, south, southern, subourbonmom, teaching, work
Filed under: Middle Age, Misc. Humor, Posts | Tags: adulthood, children, communication, employment, humor, jobs, Middle-Age, office, office etiquette, preschool, south, southern, subourbonmom, teaching, work
Hey? Did you hear that flapping sound? That’s me, flailing around in my new job. Yep, I did it—I stopped teaching 5-year-olds so I can work with much taller 5-year-olds in the grown-up world of business.
I won’t go into all the boring details, but suffice it to say (who says “suffice it to say” anymore?), I am having to re-work some of my mental processes as I make the transition from teaching to having a “big girl job,” as my teacher friends like to call it. One of the things I decided would help me through, is to make a list of things to remember while I’m sitting in my cube:
- Do not talk about poop at work….or pee, or green boogers or vomit.
- You don’t have to get someone to stand over your cube and make sure nothing happens while you go to the bathroom.
- Crayon and markers are not acceptable modes of communication.
- Do not display your finished work on the board outside your cube.
- People can hear you if you’re whispering on a conference call (found that one out yesterday).
- You cannot tell irritating people to take a time out.
- Do not send back edits with smiley faces on them.
- There is no “Question of the Day;” there hundreds of questions (usually asked by me) every day, and the answer usually involves three emails and trying to figure out how to work the phone that has no labels.
- You don’t have to write everything in words of one syllable for the beginner readers…usually.
- Don’t expect the supply closet to be very inviting—there are no paints, stickers, glitter or construction paper, even though every office in the working world desperately needs these things.
- Sitting on the carpet to sort out your papers just looks…odd. Sit in the chair whenever possible.
- Do not spin in the chair just because it’s fun. People will look at you funny.
- Relax—no one is going to look under the bathroom stall door to see which teacher is in there with them.
- It is now safe to talk about The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy without the fear of damaging a child’s imagination—but Santa’s still real, right? (In our house the rule is, “If you don’t believe, you don’t receive.”)
- Seriously, don’t talk about poop at work…ever.
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Subourbon Mom 
Funny and wonderful, Libby. My work closet had crayons, frisbees, etc. I was aviation education outreach coordinator. Sometimes worked with teachers, sometimes with students. So fun.
Things to remember: Your co-workers may still have 5-yr.-old emotional stability. There WILL be a Queen Bee. If you empty the coffee pot, refill it. Still need to bring treats on your birthday. It’s okay to sign up for paper plates and napkins for group meals. It’s okay to boycott the chili contests, but you have to claim an ulcer. Remember to take your burger wrappers out of the company car when you return it. The boss still times your visits to the rest room.
That’s all I can recall. For the past several years I’ve worked at a theme park and get to play with the kids every day. sd
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Comment by energywriter June 6, 2014 @ 2:50 pmFunny! And somehow we seem to have reversed our roles!
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Comment by libbyhall June 10, 2014 @ 1:13 amVery Cute, all good things to remember. Although here at the barn we must talk about poop now and then.
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Comment by Kimberly Anderson June 6, 2014 @ 7:21 pmI make sure to work it into just about every conversation so I can get my fix!
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Comment by libbyhall June 10, 2014 @ 1:14 amwe do talk about poop and pee at work- health care.
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Comment by Sharon June 6, 2014 @ 10:58 pmProbably not much different fro preschool–everybody does it!
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Comment by libbyhall June 10, 2014 @ 1:15 amNice post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day.
It will always be useful to read through articles from
other authors and practice something from other sites.
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