missing work

So far everything is going great, I know I'm only a couple of days into it, and I'm not anticipating a huge change or anything, but surely eventually I'll notice what I'm doing! :)

One hurdle I need to jump over is my summer camp job. Unfortunately, when I signed up with the Donor Agency it didn't cross my mind that the process might happen over summer. When they called and asked if I was available in April, I explained that I was getting married in Hawaii and totally willing to begin if it was ok with them. They said they were sure it would be ok, but that it was also ok to wait until we got back in town. So we decided to begin on April 28th.

Pam is the one who noticed that it would be all happening during summer camp. So when I knew the date of the egg retrieval I called my camp director immediately to fill her in. I explained that I was donating my eggs and that I'd need June 24th off and the following day as well to recover. I also brought up the fact that since I've never done this before and I don't know how my body will handle it, that I might need a few more days off.

I assumed this conversation would go one way, and by the time I hung up the phone I was really concerned that it went the other way.

I love camp. And the camp that I work at is AMAZING. This will be my 3rd summer returning. (It's a day camp, not a typical sleep away camp.) And it just so happened that the hospital is right on my way to camp, which I'm thinking will be awesome for when I need to get blood drawn before work.

But my camp director brought up some valid concerns about my physical and mental state for the first 2 weeks of camp. Since I've never been on hormones or had my ovaries inflate to the size of oranges (as opposed to their normal "golf ball" size) I have no idea what I'll be like.

I feel confident that I'll still be able to give 110% at camp. I'm not anticipating this process as having a negative impact on my performance at all. I hate that I'll have to miss a few days. Camp is only 7 weeks long and it's a bummer that this is happening during that time.

But HELLO! Let's look at the big picture. There is a loving couple out there. Perhaps even somewhere in my neighborhood! There is a woman who has probably had her heart broken a million times while she tried to get pregnant. And that woman wants me to help her. ME!! What an ego boost! This is life changing. Not only for the parents-to-be, but for me.

I'm doing something so huge and important that when I worry about missing a few days of work and that other staff members might frown on me because of it, I need to remind myself that this is about life. This is about me bringing a life into this world. A little baby who will turn into a child and maybe even cross my path some day. Or possibly be enrolled as a camper at my camp 6 years down the line!

The point is that I know this is such a meaningful thing that I'm doing. And if other people don't see that, or understand, then there is nothing I can do about it and it doesn't change how devoted I am.