I was going to write about my Friday night of playing Ghetto Scrabble with some good friends, but just couldn't figure out a way to tell the story of the game that would make it PC and appropriate. The farthest I will explain is that some of the decent words and phrases thrown down included PHYTBOEL, UAXINFOLVN, and DATZFORU. So, on that note, I will just say we laughed a lot, and...here are some updates from the life of me...
Gas prices are killing everyone. Driving 80 miles to and from work everyday has me feeling the pain. Will it effect where I live eventually? Maybe. That's all I can say at the moment.
I opened my golfing season Sunday with some free golf. Good thing it was free because I was terrible. But, I did get a double bogey on a Par 5 and a triple bogey on a Par 4. Trust me...that is GREAT for me. It'll get better.
A friend of mine just passed on a ton of good music to me. The best is this band from the UK called Cat Power. I love them. Figure out how to get some of their music and LISTEN to it.
Still awaiting 'girl baby no name' from Lexy and Ben. Some hybrid names have come up that are pretty good. My favorite is definitely Lexamin. It sorely beats my creation of Belexy. My father continues to call her something I can't even remember at the moment because it is just so terrible, though I think he is convinced that 'Ducky' is in the running.
Yeah, so that's about all I feel the need to report on at the moment. Life has been good lately. I love being around all these great people everyday who make me smile and remember why I am in Oregon.
Oh, and of course, love to GDD today. I'll mention it every year just so no one ever forgets. Love you always.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Screaming Mimi To the Rescue
This is Screaming Mimi. Press play to hear her. I bought three of her at an after Halloween sale in 2006, passed two of her on to others, and kept one. She sits on my desk at work and provides stress relief for people when they have a bad interaction with a client or feel overwhelmed. Right now, I think Mimi is mostly screaming about gas prices and she's scared the sun came out today because she is just a teeeeeny bit Emo. I figure that one day, she's gonna 'die' so I figured I would capture her because she makes me laugh, all the time. It's the simple things in life people, the simple things.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Work Thoughts
Work has been a little hectic lately. Like most everyone else, I have a pretty big caseload with several million things needing attention...I get to figure out where to place five sisters for a long time while their parents are in prison, how to get a parent or two to stick around and engage in services and just tell me the truth when I ask them a question, what to do with a kid who just does not seem to be able to keep it together, and how to 'get' to a girl who is almost 18 and starting to date abusive and negative men.
The work I do often reminds me not to take my own life for granted. True, I grew up in some crappy situations with my own mother, but I always had a roof over my head, my basic needs met, and an army of other adults who showed me that they would always be there for me, no matter what. I keep pictures of them around my house to remind me that I didn't get to where I am on my own...I had a lot of amazing support. The kids and families I work with often end up on our caseloads because of a cycle that they were not able to escape from because there were no outside supports. Two of my cases have been in the system generationally for quite some time. It frustrates me to no end.
In reality, I can only work with my families, get them services, and hope they change. For myself, I personally feel that I made a committment early on in my life to never let the cycle I grew up in continue on when I have kids...and once again, this is probably easier for me to do because I had amazing people help to raise me. My own children will always be safe, loved, happy, and healthy. I know that...there just shouldn't be any other way. I'm looking forward to it.
So, what is my point tonight? I guess that I just hope you keep your ears and eyes open to the children around you. Not to sound cheesy, but they are the future. And they will only grow up empowered if we give them that chance. For that matter, pay attention to parents too. Parenting can be a tough job and a lot of my clients tend to be doing it all on their own, which results in a lot of rough times.
That's all. Someone told me once, "I'm so fortunate aren't I?" When I replied, "Yes, you are fortunate," he replied, "No, I'm not fortunate...I did this all on my own." But, no one does anything all on their own. Someone fed you when you were little, taught you to ride a bike, helped you to solve your first problem, whatever that was. Failing to recognize the people in your life who make you stronger is an error. So, make sure you let your heroes know who they are, all the time.
Song of the moment...See the World by Gomez. It is a great one.
The work I do often reminds me not to take my own life for granted. True, I grew up in some crappy situations with my own mother, but I always had a roof over my head, my basic needs met, and an army of other adults who showed me that they would always be there for me, no matter what. I keep pictures of them around my house to remind me that I didn't get to where I am on my own...I had a lot of amazing support. The kids and families I work with often end up on our caseloads because of a cycle that they were not able to escape from because there were no outside supports. Two of my cases have been in the system generationally for quite some time. It frustrates me to no end.
In reality, I can only work with my families, get them services, and hope they change. For myself, I personally feel that I made a committment early on in my life to never let the cycle I grew up in continue on when I have kids...and once again, this is probably easier for me to do because I had amazing people help to raise me. My own children will always be safe, loved, happy, and healthy. I know that...there just shouldn't be any other way. I'm looking forward to it.
So, what is my point tonight? I guess that I just hope you keep your ears and eyes open to the children around you. Not to sound cheesy, but they are the future. And they will only grow up empowered if we give them that chance. For that matter, pay attention to parents too. Parenting can be a tough job and a lot of my clients tend to be doing it all on their own, which results in a lot of rough times.
That's all. Someone told me once, "I'm so fortunate aren't I?" When I replied, "Yes, you are fortunate," he replied, "No, I'm not fortunate...I did this all on my own." But, no one does anything all on their own. Someone fed you when you were little, taught you to ride a bike, helped you to solve your first problem, whatever that was. Failing to recognize the people in your life who make you stronger is an error. So, make sure you let your heroes know who they are, all the time.
Song of the moment...See the World by Gomez. It is a great one.
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