A whale of a week
Saturday (early) morning. I'm sorry not to have posted in a while. It's not that I haven't wanted to, it's just that there's not been time during the day and I just don't have the energy for anything mental when I get home. Last week, this week, and the early part of next week are probably the most challenging at work of the entire year. This is true every year and it will be true next year, too. Something reassuring about how predictable our busy time is. Reassuring but still overwhelming when you're in the middle of it.
In any case, this week pretty much consisted of: get up, eat breakfast, go to work, work (a lot), spend most of the day in triage mode, eat lunch (at some point), work more, come home, grab a Glucerna bar, change into workout clothes, go for a walk, come home, eat dinner, go to bed. Yup, pretty exciting stuff, isn't it? Last night, though, I broke out of the mold a little and left work at 4:15pm in order to pick up Alcott (my assigned foster child) and go to his big brother's basketball game. Traffic was pretty nasty, but it was totally worth it so that he could spend some time watching his brother. Today, after a three hour Junior League meeting, his brother's CASA and I will be taking both boys out and letting them hang out (and interact) for the afternoon, which should be interesting. Two teenaged boys and two single, late 30s girls with no kids of their own, out in the world together for several hours, probably at a shopping mall - I have my camera ready for the Kodak moments!
There's something I've been thinking about and wanting to share for a while, so here I go. I'm sure all children take for granted or even sometimes dislike their siblings, but if they'd been taken away from them and could only spend a few hours a week together just doing normal teenaged sibling stuff together, I guarantee that they'd develop a new appreciation. I wish that parents would think about what their actions (or inaction, in some cases) will do to their children's future. There are services available to help before children are taken away and it never happens except as a last resort, so, if you know someone who's having a tough time of it and really seems to need help, either with their children or with life in general, please let them know that they can call the local Social Services agency (in the front of the phone book in the "County Pages" section) and that there's help available. I never realized how important the little things I took for granted about growing up with a stable, loving family are; I do now.
In any case, this week pretty much consisted of: get up, eat breakfast, go to work, work (a lot), spend most of the day in triage mode, eat lunch (at some point), work more, come home, grab a Glucerna bar, change into workout clothes, go for a walk, come home, eat dinner, go to bed. Yup, pretty exciting stuff, isn't it? Last night, though, I broke out of the mold a little and left work at 4:15pm in order to pick up Alcott (my assigned foster child) and go to his big brother's basketball game. Traffic was pretty nasty, but it was totally worth it so that he could spend some time watching his brother. Today, after a three hour Junior League meeting, his brother's CASA and I will be taking both boys out and letting them hang out (and interact) for the afternoon, which should be interesting. Two teenaged boys and two single, late 30s girls with no kids of their own, out in the world together for several hours, probably at a shopping mall - I have my camera ready for the Kodak moments!
There's something I've been thinking about and wanting to share for a while, so here I go. I'm sure all children take for granted or even sometimes dislike their siblings, but if they'd been taken away from them and could only spend a few hours a week together just doing normal teenaged sibling stuff together, I guarantee that they'd develop a new appreciation. I wish that parents would think about what their actions (or inaction, in some cases) will do to their children's future. There are services available to help before children are taken away and it never happens except as a last resort, so, if you know someone who's having a tough time of it and really seems to need help, either with their children or with life in general, please let them know that they can call the local Social Services agency (in the front of the phone book in the "County Pages" section) and that there's help available. I never realized how important the little things I took for granted about growing up with a stable, loving family are; I do now.
Comments