Exhausted (yes, this is just a rant)

There's a saying in church circles.  There is no tired like "VBS tired." 

You can find lots of cute memes on it.  "VBS tired" is that utter, complete exhaustion that generally comes by the end of an entire week of 3+ hours daily of Bible teaching, songs, arts & crafts, and games. 

Well, I have been "VBS tired" for the past three weeks.

The problem, however, is that I have not been working at VBS.  In fact, our church VBS was held one of the two weeks that we were out of town. 

If possible, I have reached a new level of tired.  What kind of tired is beyond VBS tired? 

The "I've been working all day, every day to fix someone else's mistakes at work, and now I am completely overwhelmed with all the things on my to-do list" tired.  You see, one of my coworkers, who handles everything relating to student records and enrollments, left our office for another position back in mid-May.  We were assured over and over again that everything was good.

Things have been FAR from good. In fact, I can't think of any positive adjectives or adverbs to use. 

Disastrous.
Horrible.
Confusing.
Messy.
Non-compliant.
Error-filled.

We didn't really know what we were inheriting.  After school let out, we started recognizing one the serious problems in one area.  I ended up getting help from four other coworkers who came in just to help so I didn't drown in problems.  I was asked to cut my vacation short by 2 weeks - both a blessing and a curse, since it meant two less weeks without pay, but it also meant two less weeks without rest.

When I came back to work, I was focused on the area that we knew was a problem.  But then, near the end of my two weeks of 10-hour days alone in the office, I encountered even more serious problems.  After speaking with my boss and multiple offices at the District, we began to understand the sheer magnitude of the problems.  And since my new coworker literally has only been in the position since July 7th, fixing all of these problems has fallen on one person.

Yep. 

Me.

So while I'm supposed to be handling the 1,000 different things that come with my position, or that my boss just expects me to handle because no one else really knows how to do them, I have also been spending 8 hours a day trying to fix this other person's mistakes.  And, boy, have there been a lot of them. 

And by a lot, I mean, over half of the school of 900 students were not properly scheduled. All electives for 4 grades were just not dealt with.  Entire classes were not being counted for our staffing numbers. Student files are not in the proper order, haven't been scanned into the system, and often changes (to phone numbers, emergency contacts, and even addresses!) were never entered.

Today was an extremely hard day.  We are back to 8 hour days, but that means that we have exactly 0 minutes where the office isn't open to the public.  It was so stressful, as we had maybe 20 minutes in 8.5 hours that we didn't have parents on the phone and in the lobby trying to register or ask questions. 

Before I left, I checked in with my boss to ask if there was anything she needed me to make a priority for tomorrow.  I really wish I hadn't asked.  Because she basically added about 5 things to my list -all that she wants done before Wednesday - that I have no idea how I'm going to have time to finish while also doing all of the other things that need to be done.  And some of the things that I normally would have had done by now, but which I have not been able to do at all this month?  My boss is unhappy that they aren't done and wants those done ASAP as well. 

I came home utterly defeated.  I have my entire job to do. I have my ex-coworker's job to do (which should have all been done 2-3 months ago).  I have 33 new staff members who have needed supplies, needed my help with setting up their printer access, submitting IT and maintenance work orders, or just answering questions that normally I wouldn't have to answer.  I have 900 students' schedules to verify and ensure are correct in the system.  I have supplies to package and deliver to every returning teacher's classroom.  I have 800 pounds of copy paper that needs to be delivered.  I have around 500 parent pick-up cards that I need to personally type out and print because the system is stupid and won't let me download the names to mail merge.  We have 900 welcome packets to put together before Friday night.  And there are so many other things that I am responsible for this week alone...

I have never been so burnt out before the school year even began. 

I am so hopeful about our staff, and my new coworker is amazing - we love her already.  But I am also ready to drop. And I don't see any chance it's going to calm down for at least another three weeks.

So if I have a total breakdown in the next month, you'll probably be able to find me at the zoo, talking to the big cats and wishing we could just cuddle. Because if I can't adult, I'd much rather cat.