Overwhelmed...and Grateful

It's nice to know I have a boss who cares about me as a human being first, and as an employee second. We have very rigorous fundraising standards and love to come out on top, but when it comes to the well being of her employees, she shows the utmost concern and realizes that employee morale is truly important. I am incredibly grateful that she is often more in tune with my personal needs than I am.

Last year around this time, I got really overwhelmed with the duties of my job, but determined to rise above, I worked myself to the bone and got really run down. After a particularly taxing staff meeting, I went back to my desk and looked over the list of items I needed to follow up on or complete. Feeling overwhelmed I sat down and tried to absorb it all. Laura came back to add one more thing to the list and immediately saw the emotion in my eyes. She asked me what was wrong and I felt the tears start to fall. She could tell I was overwhelmed and exhausted and told me I needed to take time off - ASAP. I looked back down at the list I had just accumulated and felt like a day or two off was a complete impossibility. She explained to me that she and Jamee could pick up some slack for a couple of days while I took the time I needed to rest up and renew myself.

Well, this morning when I got to work, I had the following message in my text inbox:

"You okay girlie? You sounded tired last night! Is it only the training? Boys? (They are all retarded!) Or work? Can you schedule a couple days off? I'm a wee worried about you. Stac - see if Alex can come in and help you guys today? If she can't see if Peg can send someone over? I need you and Jamee to not get overwhelmed. Let me know what you think!"

I already had a little 15 year old juvenile delinquent stuffing invitations for me in our spare office, so the additional help wasn't necessary, but the fact that she cared enough to offer me an "out," of sorts, was so appreciated. I have to say, I feel so blessed to have a boss who understands that employees are also people who have a life outside of work. Laura has also been a fantastic mentor to me as I have strived to learn this role. She often compliments me on a job well done, but I have to say, I am her prodigy in this game.