Well that was a new wrinkle...

This afternoon I got a call from the front office at school.
"Are you expecting Joe Smith*?"

"Um, no...."

"Well, he's here in the office saying that he's supposed to come to your program."

"Not that I'm aware of. No paperwork, he's not in the system, haven't heard from my manager."

When I touched base with them later, they told me that evidently the parents had come to the school for lunch and just told their son to go to my program after school, not knowing that it wasn't one of the options they could just... choose. They'd have to register him and pay and a file needs to be generated so that I have emergency contact information, too.

In all the time I've done this job, this is the first time that's happened.

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Then, the mom of one of my smaller guys came to pick him up at almost six. He was working on a project with the magnets, I was sitting with him and we were chatting about magnets and colors and stuff. He's a neat little kid. She saw us through the door.

She said that she so appreciated that I spend time with the kids, talking to them and getting to know them and taking care of them. "I don't know why this program isn't full," she said. "I talk you up at every opportunity. Jason* just loves it here. He chooses to come here over all the other places he could be going."

She was very complimentary. Upon finding out that we run a summer camp, she told me, "He will definitely be there this year."

I wish my program was full, too. I do have more kids than I did last year. Things are going well with enrollment and activities, although it really feels like there aren't enough hours in the day. :)

Anyway, hopefully the boy who wasn't enrolled will BE enrolled. I just keep doing what I do and hope for the best.

And I'm still so happy with the job and the kids I work with. Grateful that I have a job I love. How many people can say that?