North of the Stupid Line

I went on a “Supervision Training for Managers” course yesterday afternoon and realised I’d been doing supervision sessions with my staff (I currently manage 6 staff) all wrong! Oops.

Apparently, where I’ve been going wrong is to discuss both supervision AND management issues in a supervision session. This begs the question: “what’s the difference between the two?!”.

Management issues are the usual run of the mill, day to day things like annual leave, toil, outreach, general admin etc., whereas supervision should be focusing on the individual supervisee; their wellbeing, personal development and training, feedback from clients – both positive and negative – and have to be linked to the organisation’s overall strategic objectives. Phew!

I’m on another course today, “Non-employment discrimination”, so a return to more “legal” matters!

Do I really need an excuse to upload a picture of my gorgeous little boy?!

I reach the tender age of 30 this year, and I do think I’m lucky in the sense that my life is perfect. My issue is, is it really that perfect? Should I, at the very least, be thinking that it is perfect?

First of all, how does one define “perfect”? Does it mean perfect as in “I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted” or does it mean “I have everything ‘normal’ people should have”?

My life is perfect in the sense that I have a gorgeous wife, a smashing little boy, a job that I love (sometimes!) with a bunch of people I’m close to, a nice roof over my head, a fairly new car, and I get pretty much anything I want, when I want it, as I have the financially stability to do so.

However, I still want more (don’t we all?!). I’d love to get a job closer to home to reduce the amount of travelling I do (hey, I’m not getting any younger!), which would give me the added bonus of seeing my little family every single day. I want an Audi TT (preferably brand new!) and a mansion with an indoor swimming pool! At particularly stressful times at work, I want peace and quiet. I want, I want, I want … !

Does the fact that I want more than I already have mean that my life is not perfect after all? Or am I just being greedy?

I’ve finally got back into the habit of checking out my Bloglines account regularly courtesy of my new iPhone, which makes it so easy (check out http://i.bloglines.com

I’ve been catching up on some blogs and there are some pretty good ones out there. If you have any suggestions as to what I should be checking out, let me know.

Corey was three months old on Friday – where has the time gone?

After entering his way into my life on 19 November 2009 via caesarean section, Corey has been a source of absolute joy and pleasure for both Rachel and I. Believe me, nothing ever prepares you for this outpouring of love that you feel for a little child, especially your own flesh and blood.

As well as this inbuilt instinct to nurture and to protect, when your child starts to respond to you, it is a great feeling knowing that a little ‘un knows who you are and recognises you. For example, I pretend that Corey is kicking me in the face (playfully of course!) by directing his feet to my chin as he sits on my lap facing towards me, and Corey is smiling from ear to ear. It’s got to the point now where he has slowly started to nudge my chin with his left foot when he wants to play this game. An absolute thrill, I tell you.

Fatherhood is everything I expected it to be, and more. It saddens me when I hear of fathers who don’t really take an interest in their kids; they really don’t know what they’re missing out on to be able to do that.

Will stop gushing now