Checkin' in

Nothing much new to report. Work is still pretty crazy busy most days.

I was happy to get a little relaxation in this weekend.

Thursday family came down, I went to an early morning yoga class, came home, ate dinner around 2PM, and then afterwards, I delivered Thanksgiving leftovers to three of my clients who I knew were alone for the holiday. This made me feel really good inside. Especially because two of them were sitting alone in the dark with no Thanksgiving meal, and the other was eating a dried-up, burnt looking sweet potato his aide had made him as his "main meal".

Friday I went into work and got a bunch of stuff done. I rarely go into the office on Fridays, but it was nice and definitely needed. Most businesses were closed, or people had taken the day off to shop. (Something I've personally never gotten into).

Yesterday was DS holiday photo shoot. Most of it took place outdoors and he and his cousins were completely miserable and uncooperative. The photographer did email however and said she got a bunch of good shots so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Today I have mostly been catching up on laundry. DH and DS are stringing up the lights outside, and have already made one Home Depot run (Thank you recent anniversary gift card from the 'rents). I am planning to go to yoga today at either 12:30 or 3. Then I am planning to make a big batch of pumpkin soup. My sister and her boyfriend are coming down tonight for a couple of days.

So, in a nutshell, this is what I've been up to folks. Hope your holiday weekend was happy and relaxing as well!

I

mailed out a resume yesterday. For a totally different kind of job with a completely different population.

Don't know what will become of this, but if there is one thing I am sure of...........that is that I have started to get "the itch" lately.

I've been at my current agency for close to 3 years now (with this program for close to 6) and I just want to see what else is out there.

It is definitely time for a change........I'm not going to go into the things that are bugging me about work lately.

But I know that I need to start keeping my options open again, and changing something about work in general.

Whether that means leaving or just seeing that maybe the grass really is not greener, and staying and going about my role in another kind of way.

I am happy that I do have options. I haven't sent out resumes or interviewed in over a year at least, so if anything, this is good practice :).

Question of the Day

How do you deal with other providers who are part of the team, however, constantly seem to be working against the team instead of with it?

How do you work with "professionals" who you start to question their sanity at times?

Especially when they constantly try to stir up drama and focus on dead-horse issues that are not immediately fixable over and over again?

I feel like you can give me any difficult client to work with and I can figure out a good strategy but when it's another helping provider............I just want to spit nails at them sometimes. I feel like this is where I want to draw the line.

I think the helping professions tends to draw people into them that don't always have control over their own stuff, and that is where these power struggles stem from.

Anyways, I am SO happy it's the weekend!!!!

How do you NOT vent about work?

My co-workers and I tend to gather daily for a bit to just vent. I think this comes with the territory of being a social worker, and can be very therapeutic.

However, my reason for raising this question is that we have a new social worker starting next week. The plan is for her to take over some of my cases.

I don't know anything about her, or her background, but I sure as hell don't want to scare her away. A lot of the stuff we talk about can be very intense and is really not "fixable".

So do you think we should all just keep our mouths shut around her? I don't like to sugar-coat anything, and if I am having a difficult day with work, my stress can show.

Take this funny quiz

Are you a social work moaner?

Awww, Monday

You've snuck up on me again, my friend.

Weekends always go by way too fast.

I have scheduled myself to be in the office most of this week so I feel a little less stressed to get a bunch of things done.......I have planned to primarily focus on all of my paperwork over the next few days.

I have had a nice relaxing weekend, and yesterday in camel at yoga, I wished myself a good week.

I hope everyone else out there in social work land has a positive week as well.

Where the Heart Is

I can never grow tired of this movie. I've watched it two nights in a row.

I still can't

shake this awful cold. I was starting to feel better a day or two ago, and even went to a yoga class. Big mistake. I ended up having to sit out basically the whole floor series as I felt like I was going to vomit the entire time.

I also can tell that the holiday season is starting with many of my clients.........just lots of problems coming up with them in general, in addition to the tons of things I need to follow up on for my new cases coming into the community.

I haven't really had a moment to rest and my body is very upset with me for it.

It sucks. I know I need to just take a few days for myself, but if I do that........things will be even more stressful at work. My boss did promise me that he is going to offer the open Service Coordinator position to someone today, so hopefully, that will take some of the burden off my shoulders. We shall see. One of my co-workers and I have been joking all week on whether or not the person he hires will stay.

I often feel like you have to be crazy to do what I do for a living!!! There are lots of perks that come with the positon, but there is lots of dysfunction junction too.

My "mantra" for the week

is to only work on what I am realistically capable of finishing.

It's only Monday, and so far it's working well ;).