Kid and Caboodle

Had a nice chat with some friends at work today. I took the “welcome back” banner down, but I saved it to reuse when someone else in the office goes away for an extended time. I’m not saving the chocolate, though!

“Welcome back” banner

chocolate truffle

Someone in my office was REALLY happy to have me back at work today. When I got in, I found someone had strung a large banner across my cubicle studded with signs saying “Welcome Back!” and had left a bag of Lindt Extra Dark truffles on my desk. Wow! One co-worker bought me my favorite drink at Starbucks — hot chocolate made with skim milk and hazelnut syrup. Another gave me a big hug. Others simply looked relieved! I had a lot of fun reviewing my family’s experiences in Taiwan and handing out small gifts to various people in the office … including my hardworking timekeeper!

Didn’t get all that much work done today, but I think I was excused. Half the morning was spent deleting e-mail messages so the system would allow me to receive new ones. Another part of the day was spent discussing a possible work schedule change; my managers would like someone to come in very early (i.e. around 7:30 a.m.). I said I might be able to do that, but that I would have to make sure my husband and his office would be ok with him working a later shift to minimize disrupting our son’s schedule. It looks like everything will work out, and I will begin my new schedule next week. I will be starting between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. and ending between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. I welcome the prospect of getting home earlier in the evenings and spending time with my son, and of getting a really good parking space at the garage in the mornings. We’ll see how I feel about my new schedule when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. next Monday, though!