A vent....

So, I just have to vent..... bear with me, or just skip this blog today all together. Not sure how articulate this will be, but well, here goes.

We get paid every other Wednesday. It's been that way since I started, I'm pretty sure that it's been that way since before the current owners took over more than a year ago. So, payday was the 31st of December. On Tuesday, the 30th, at 3:45 pm, we get a memo from the owner of the daycare. Our director handed out the memo, told me that if anyone had comments/concerns/complaints to call the owner, it was her deal. I read the memo and my heart sank. We weren't going to get paid on Wednesday. The reason? We had several families that were gone for 2 weeks that hadn't paid yet. There was not enough money in the account to pay our salaries. The owner assured us that she was positive that people would be paying their accounts up on Monday, the 5th. Ok, not good, but hey, sometimes you can't control certain things... like people paying when they are out of town......

So, we were closed on the 1st, but were back in business on Friday, the 2nd. I arrive at my usual time, 9am, when the other "building director" steps out of her door to let me know that the director was going to be spending the day at the hospital, her father was in ICU and wasn't expected to make it. OK, down one person, but since there was only 2 kids in that building, I didn't think it would be too bad. We had quite a day, because one of the "teachers" in my building was on vacation, and had to send home another one because her child was running a fever of 102. NOT a good start to the day. The upside is that Danielle came and helped me in my room and it was fun to watch her juggle babies trying to comfort them, feed them. (as an off shoot, she has informed me that she wants to have 8.. yes.. EIGHT... 8.... children.... )It was fun.

Fast forward to yesterday, I'm driving Danielle up to Concord and my phone rings. It's the owner telling me that the director's father had passed Friday night. (By the way, the owner is the director's aunt). We were going to have to muddle through next week. That means some overtime for me and the other building director.... that means hoping that we have the numbers covered. AND just because I'm going to be doing overtime, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll get PAID the overtime, right?

Oh, and did I mention that most of the people who haven't paid yet are after school families? Can you imagine those parents stopping in before they have to go to work to pay their bill, or do you think they will wait until Monday night when they pick up their kids? Do you think we are going to be paid on Monday????

Did I also mention that my rent was due on the first??? Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that they allow us to wait until the 5th of the month to pay (they frown upon it...) but if we haven't paid by then, they start the eviction process on the 6th.... Can you say stress?I wonder if I should call my landlord and explain the situation. I wonder if they'll cut us a break. I don't mind paying the late fee (I WISH I could bill my employers for that!!!)but the eviction scares the heck out of me. Another question: how are they going to have the money to pay our salaries THIS week, and then turn around and pay us AGAIN next week?

My question is... Do I just take this payday as an aberration? Do I pretend that I"m not worried that it will happen again, or do I jump ship before it goes down. That was part of my thinking last year when I quit, but then went back. I LOVE where I work. I am attached to "my" babies, I really don't want to go any where else. AND if I were to go anywhere else, that's not going to help in the short term... I'd probably have to wait at least 2 weeks before getting a paycheck anyway.... Sometimes it's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. It's not like I have a whole lot of seniority there, but if I were to go somewhere else, well, I'd really be the new kid on the block. *sigh*

So, to sum it up... I'm stressed. A LOT. But there isn't much that can be done about it. Just hold my breath and trust that we'll get our paychecks. I do know that Jody has a job or two lined up this week with Charlie, but again.. the waiting for it to go through is nerve wracking.He's been up and dressed and ready to go in the morning and Charlie will call and say that the people have decided to put off the install for a week/month. Charlie wishes he had more work to give Jody, so he could hire him full time.. but for now, it's just what ever he can scrape up. I just love this economy.
I will survive. I always do. =)