If You Build It...

It sure as hell wasn’t pretty but it was a success. People showed up in mighty numbers last night to register for our Community Center. On paper I have 53 children signed up for our K-8 program; our goal is to serve 50. My high school program is lacking in possible candidates but there is still time to remedy that. The ESL classes fetched 40 adults which is a typical number for registration, so I’m told.

It wasn’t all roses, though. I was not nearly as ready with something as simple as a registration packet when they started arriving an hour before we were ready to open the doors. The beginning was such a mess, our consultant really stepped in and helped iron things out while I carried out our prescribed plan of gathering all the kids and getting putting them in the watchful care of my staff who occupied them with arts and crafts, games and face painting.

Once the little ones were busy, it was easy to help their parents with the task of filling out their paperwork and enjoying the rest of the evening. If it weren’t for my co-workers who jumped in to help, I would have been utterly, completely and undeniably lost. It would have gone a thousand times worse than it did but they were magnificent and I am deeply indebted to them.

Of course my natural tendency is to focus on where my planning and work fell short and forget the fact that I have a box full of applications to sort through, teachers ready to start and a successful Open House under my belt. All that is left now is to take all of these puzzle pieces and shift them around for a successful opening -- which is less than a month away. My struggle with anxiety and pressure might get a little reprieve now that a slight Christmas break is here. But don’t count on it.