you just never know...

When I got to the other district where I work today - their school life was in a bit of a tizzy...
Yesterday afternoon the computer that controls the bells and the intercom had suddenly forgotten it was part of the network.
So - there were no bells.
There were no intercom options.

I spent the first hour + on the phone trying to figure out what in the world we could do to solve this.

It eventually was solved - for today.
I wish there was a clear and plain solution. Instead, we think that some of the internal parts of the network are just plain dying...

This is when things got interesting. One of the switches had orange lights blinking - I took that to mean something wasn't working. My tech director told me that I had to unplug that switch and reconnect to see if it helped the problem.

What if it never comes back on??
What if I am the cause of that...

But, I didn't create the network,
I didn't create the cabling problems,
I didn't create this aged equipment predicament.

That is what I need to start learning...I am not the cause of this. And who really cares who is the cause - that doesn't solve one single problem. Instead, I need to focus on ways to be part of the solution.

So - I was brave and I pulled the plug and nothing crashed down on me, no sirens blew and no computers exploded in smoke.

Nothing was fixed either.

And that's when things became even more interesting...

There was a person almost 100 miles away who had several switches to donate to us - we just needed to go and get them. It was decided that taking a road trip today and picking up the equipment was the best use of our afternoon.

It was a BEAUTIFUL trip - through the rolling countryside with the changing leaves of the grain fields flying by the windows and the blue sky framing everything above.

So -what did I learn from all of this.

There are many times where the hard and the good walk side by side.

I am learning and growing into a different person
- one who is part of the problem solving team. (There were times this morning that I actually made suggestions and some of them worked!!)
-one who other people listen to because they think I know... and I do...

Wow!! I guess sometimes you do know!