Changing of the Guard

I have been the scheduler for the hockey program for the past three years and it's a bear of a job. I did not want the job in the first place but way back when Mr. Hockey wouldn't take no for an answer. He was up front and honest about it, telling me that it was a lot of work but an important job. I wasn't thrilled about it and told him repeatedly that I wasn't interested, but he wouldn't take "no" for an answer and kept dogging me until I gave in. When I took it on, I had no clue what I was doing, but over time I figured it out, and it's true, it is an enormous job. It starts in August and continues until about March. The work itself isn't the part I loathe, it's the complaining and whining by everyone around you about the schedule, and then the demands that things be changed without much thought about the work that went into it and the consequences of making those changes.

In the end, I'd probably rather not have to do it because it's just one more thing, and a big one at that. Well, my whining was clearly heard by the board because at their big annual meeting they sent out a request for someone to replace me and they got a taker. One of the moms who has experience scheduling came forward and said she'd do it. Wow, I couldn't believe it. Of course, the insecure part of me wondered what I did wrong to warrant replacement. I even went to the president and explained that even though I whined and moaned about the job, my intention was not to quit. I was not lobbying hard to be replaced, and he assured me that this was not the situation, they just felt like it was good to have a backup in place.

With that in mind, I then indicated that since things were in motion and someone had come forward who was willing and able, then I would start the process of handing over the reigns and moving on with my life. It's a good opportunity because the scheduling is basically done. Things will change over the rest of the season, but for the most part, the hard part is done. It's a good time to ease someone into the job, and I can't pass up this opportunity.

In the end, I worked pretty hard at the job and did the best I could. I can take that much away from it, and you can only expect so much from one person... yeah, right.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to ila fan for the pic.