The Good, The Bad, and the Unappreciated….

So today I am a conflicted Magpye. Part of me is very happy, because my husband has just announced a surprise vacation he has planned and next Thursday we are headed to Napa Valley for a long weekend of wine tasting, Redwood gazing, beaching, and just relaxing, the two of us, no kids, no stress. I was so proud of him, he made all the reservations and planned the whole thing – I’m totally excited! We haven’t had a trip since January of last year when we went to Hawaii – and his work paid for all that. This indicates real effort! So I go into work this morning, and I ask my boss if I can have just two days off next week. I don’t take a whole week at a time like some co-workers, not that they don’t have every right to do so – why, as a matter of fact I just spent last week covering for a co-worker who took a week’s vacation. And as sometimes happens, when you devote 2/3 of your day doing someone else’s job, your work can tend to pile up just a bit. Well I ask my boss for those two days, and he says that’s fine, so woo-hoo, everything is hunky-dory. I apply for the time off in the system, and go on about my day – I’m trying hard to get my workload under control as soon as possible. Halfway through the day, I get an email from my boss asking me to start sending him a daily report of how much work I get done. Hm. Okay, I respond that’s fine, no problem, and I get back to work. But I can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s up… Finally, towards the end of the day, I find an email from my boss (who has logged out and left). It states that although he approved my time off, I will need to complete x-amount of work on a daily basis between now and then in order to be allowed my short little vacation. People, am I being childish here? I am the go-to person on my team, any time anyone needs help or someone is out and needs to be covered I am unceremoniously removed from my duties and directed to fill in for that person – which, by the way, I do with a glad heart, because I know I am contributing to my team when it’s needed – I actually convinced myself my boss knew I could be counted on to come through whenever needed. Then something like this just makes me feel like I’m busting my hump only to be looked down on by a person who simply does not want to see me in a positive light. And you know what? I STILL refuse to let that affect my work, my disposition, or my respect for my boss. Sometimes I wonder if that just makes it worse. The daily goal he set for me has BEEN my daily goal for months, and other than when I’m doing other people’s work, I always meet and often exceed it. WHATEVER!! Deep breaths… cleansing thoughts… Napa Valley… sunshine… beaches… suntan… wine tasting… Speaking of which – I need another beer. Cheers…