The Rhythms of Underemployment

At some point, I expect to settle into the rhythms of underemployment.  But today, I want to continue to document the experience.  I think of future Kristin who will be grateful to this morning's Kristin for her writing, for her determination to capture these moments.

Yesterday was a strange mix of feelings.  At first, it felt like any Monday.  My spouse teaches from home on Monday morning, so just like most Monday mornings, I needed to be out of the way by 8:00 a.m.  Unlike most Mondays, when I would head to the car and drive to work, I simply went into the second bedroom that serves as my study.  I worked on various projects at the antique desk as my husband taught Philosophy to college students.

The rest of the day was both familiar and strange.  I made tea, as I often do, but it was in my kitchen, not the faculty/staff break room (I do not miss that faucet with no water pressure).  I answered e-mails from students and did seminary work, but I wasn't having to do that in the margins, during my lunch break, and I wasn't interrupted with any school situation that needed me.

In some ways, my underemployment Monday felt like a week-end.  My spouse and I went downstairs to the condo building game room to play pool; we don't usually do that on week days.  I took the chicken noodle soup that my spouse made for dinner on Wednesday and turned it into a mac and cheese dish.

I'm glad that I did that; by the end of the day, I would need some comfort food.  In the midafternoon came the announcement that my replacement has been chosen.  She will start on Feb. 28, but she will be on the campus today, Feb. 8, to meet everyone.

I won't deny that it stings a bit to know that my replacement was chosen before I was even gone.  And as I have said before, if I had had any inkling that my performance wasn't up to the level needed, I might have a different set of emotions.  If I had been on some sort of improvement plan, I'd have an inkling of what might have been coming.

In some ways, I did have an inkling, in terms of personnel decisions that have been made since the new owners bought the school.  There are not many people left who were there before the purchase, and very few people in leadership positions remain.

But let me keep perspective.  I do not envy my replacement--she is walking into quite a lot of work that will need to be done.  Her first day will be 30 days before the huge accreditation visit.  I am happy that I was let go before the bulk of that work got underway.

And now, because my schedule is more flexible than it has been on any Tuesday since about 1998, let me go on a longer walk than usual!