Movin' On Up!

Sorry for those of you have been waiting (im)patiently for me to give the word on whether or not I got my promotion (Janet!:). But, YES, I am now a Department Manager and I am Department Manager of Inside Lawn and Garden! Yeah! Lacey was brought back up to Department Manager also and is over Outside Garden as of Yesterday. We are very excited to be doing this together, but we've all ready been thrown under the bus: my first day as a Department Manager was my day off and I got called in to prepare the department for a visit from Trent (our DM). So, I worked and worked and it was fine until they came in the next day: THEY being Trent (DM), Debbie (REGIONAL VP), Frank (Regional Seasonal Manager), and our District Pricing Manager and HIS boss! Good LORD what a surprise. Lacey and I both walked our departments separately with Frank...which was good AND bad. He only walked Seasonal for 45 minutes and gave me a few big compliments, which was nice. He walked OSLG with Lacey for 2 HOURS and, since then, she has been completely driven to get her department going in the right direction before all the spring stuff comes in and fills her top stock. I understand this TOTALLY, but she is supposed to be coverage for me INSIDE until I can get a new Team Leader (and hopefully an extra associate since Lacey is heading Outside). Lacey's early move would have been fine if we hadn't sold out of Christmas last week and then had to start resets a month early! LORD it's been a week and I only got to see Robert for a day; PLUS I'm going through EMTP class still and that gets ME off the floor as well...so Seasonal is SO understaffed right now it's rediculous! Honestly, how is it that the department is MORE of a mess now that I'm ACTUALLY a department manager than when I wasn't?:)
Still, I'm glad to have the job and I am going to stand up for my department tomorrow when I go in to talk to Ryan. There isn't going to be any waiting for new employees. He's going to give me some people NOW. They tell us to treat our department like a store within a store, like our own store...well, I wouldn't let me own store run at this much of an understaffed level just cuz the owner didn't want to spend a little extra money for the holiday season.
Wish me luck!