My days look a little different every day because some days I work (I'm a recreational therapist at a residential treatment center for teenagers). It sure keeps things interesting! Here's a recap of my Tuesday September 10, 2013. PS. I talked about the "Week in the Life" project here.
5:13 am- JD kisses me goodbye and then leaves for work on his scooter. I go back to sleep.
6:30ish am- Tenley wakes up. I make her a bottle and she snuggles in my bed with me until she falls asleep in the crook of my arm.
7:05 am- My alarm goes off. I push snooze as many times as I possibly can before I know for sure I'll be late if I don't get up. I struggle because Tenley is so sweet and angelic next to me. Her soft, gentle breaths soothe me and I hate having to wake her.
7:25 am- I prepare the diaper bag, get us both dressed and grab food to eat for breakfast and lunch.
7:57am- I pull out of the driveway.
I listen to a Christian radio station on my commute to work. Tenley falls asleep in the backseat. I almost cause a car accident because I forget to look in my blind spot before I change lanes. The cars honk and I'm shaken up. I drive anxiously the rest of the way. I feel stupid and beat myself up a little, but I'm also just so grateful for guardian angels and the horrible incident I narrowly avoided. I think about God's hand in my life and give thanks for my blessings.
8:30am- I meet Stephanie (my mother-in-law) at Fazoli's (our regular meeting place) to drop Tenley off. My heart hurts a little because I don't want to leave her. She was so sweet this morning.
9:06am- I warm up apple cinnamon oatmeal in the microwave. I catch up with co-workers. I eat a banana. I check emails.
10:00am to noon- I look over lists of residents. I prioritize what charts I need to read and review before others. I start with the Autism Spectrum unit. I read psychosocial evaluations for several boys. My feelings are heavy as I learn about and remember some of their backgrounds and histories. I feel grateful as I gain insight and understanding that will help me be a better therapist and mentor.
12:04pm- I warm up chimichangas for lunch. I eat and visit with some of the other recreation therapists. Andrew tells me about the newest iPhone (which I'm totally clueless about!) I prepare my groups for the day. I make eligibility lists for tomorrow's outings. I problem solve issues and plan details for the outings.
2:00pm- I run a ropes course group with the Emeralds unit. I work with these girls regularly and feel comfortable with them. I am excited about how many girls are safe enough to attend today. We work on a low ropes element, the swinging log. The girls are challenged to think about patience and to work on having patience with each other, me, and themselves during group. I give them different tasks to do (enter from the ends, enter from the ends without anyone stepping down, have every other person face opposite directions, enter from the middle without using the side wires, have every person balance without touching the top wire). Some girls want to give up or seem discouraged by the difficulty of the tasks. Every girl stays involved for the duration of group and they accomplish every obstacle I give them; I am pleasantly surprised. We talk about patience and why it's important to be patient during recovery. Every resident makes a comment during processing without me calling on them. I walk away from group feeling like I'm really good at what I do (haha. It wasn't me! They've been working really hard and were in a good place as a group).
2:55pm- Walk to Falcons unit. Things are chaotic; their group room is closed for repairs due to resident aggression and property damage.
3:00pm- I am supposed to start group. Staff members help me line the boys up to move to a different area of the building.
3:13pm- I finally begin. The boys are inconsiderate, uncooperative, and annoying. I try to continue with group, but am distracted by side conversations, inappropriate gestures, bouncy balls, foul language, and residents who can't seem to maintain personal boundaries. My group is totally unproductive. I conclude group feeling like I really suck at what I do (It wasn't me! These boys weren't in a place to engage in and take something away from my group and IT'S OKAY).
3:48pm- I sit down next to a boy who was particularly disruptive. I try to talk to him about what was really going on. He seems to open up and shares a lot of his feelings about other stuff going on in his life. He expresses gratitude to me for taking the time to listen. We brainstorm ideas of things he can do to calm down when he's overwhelmed. We come up with a secret key word I can use to remind him to be appropriate the next time I run group. He is more calm and settled than I have seen him in a long time.
4:11pm- I chart from my first group and pack up to leave. My notes for the second group will have to wait for tomorrow.
5:00pm- I clock out and walk to my car. I eat two salt water taffies.
5:15pm- I pick up Tenley. Stephanie tells me how cute she was being today. I call my mom on my drive home from work.
6:00pm- I get home. I check blogs and unwind. Tenley is really cranky. I want to start dinner, but feel really unmotivated and Tenley is crying a lot. I decide we'll have leftover sloppy joes instead. I make her a bottle and sit on the couch to feed her, avoiding the pile of laundry in the middle of the floor.
8:45ish- We start to wind down. I take off my jewelry to shower. Everyone gets cleaned up. Tenley smells SO good and is as snuggly as can be. JD puts her in her owl pajamas.
10:00pm- We get home and Tenley transfers easily to her crib. JD and I stay up talking and cuddling. I feel so lucky to call him mine. We say our prayers.
11:15pm- Anddddd. . . lights out.
1 comment:
I am glad we're not the only ones who are really happy when our baby falls asleep - especially when we're about to eat out! Great post!
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