I was so looking forward to a long weekend with my family. We had no big plans, nowhere we had to be, no commitments. It was fabulous.
I actually worked later than usual on Friday, since I was off on Tuesday and had a bunch of things to catch up on. I had a final session with a client back at the Upland clinic and terminated therapy with her. She was definitely one that I can call a success. I actually did her intake myself and saw her through a whole course of therapy (plus she was on meds). In seven months, she went from suicidal to enrolled in college. She worked really hard with me and was really willing to put in a lot of work. It's so nice to have some success stories!
Unfortunately, on Thursday at the Perinatal clinic, I learned some troubling news about a former client of mine. She is one that I did a lot of work with, and even though she made tremendous progress, there was such a limit to what I could do with her and so many needs that were still unmet. She did, however, safely deliver a healthy baby just before Christmas, and that made her a success. Unfortunately, she has gone missing and no one knows where she is. Although I generally try to not take my work home and not worry about clients, she's one that I do worry about....probably because her entire situation seems so incredibly unfair. She is one of those clients for whom I really wish I could have hit the rewind button back to their childhood and put her in a good environment and then just let her grow up and I know she'd have been fine. If nothing else, this year has taught me to realize that my job is to do the very best that I can to help my clients change their lives and to advocate for them when I can but to then realize that I don't have a magic wand and can't fix all that is unjust in the world.
Things at CONREP last week finally started seeming like they were really back on track. It felt natural to be in all the groups and just doing our thing, instead of in constant crisis intervention mode. Is it bizarre to say that I really like working with these people? Thinking about it objectively, I know that the people I work with have done some of the worst things imaginable and are just about as crazy as they come. In fact, I'm willing to be that even the people I love dearly who read my drivel would likely be willing to say that they should all just vanish and the world would be better off. And I like them!!!! I'll leave it to you all to figure out what that means about me!
This weekend, Ramy, Rebecca, and I just had a lovely time together. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and in the 70s (up to 80 degrees), much unlike the weather in Tennessee. The cleaning lady came on Friday and worked her magic. It was glorious to come home to a clean house! Friday night, we watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics while Ramy put together Rebecca's new play kitchen. Rebecca and I sacked out long before he did. We slept late on Saturday mornng, and then I made breakfast. We went to Costco and generally did little until we went to church on Saturday evening. After Rebecca went to sleep, we did our taxes (is that romantic or what?). We all slept in late again on Sunday morning, and then Ramy gave me flowers and the sweetest card ever. He took us out to a fabulous Valentines brunch at the Pomona Valley Mining Company, which overlooks the Chino Valley from the side of a tall hill. It was un-be-liev-able. They had crab legs and salmon, omelets and waffles, every kind of salad imaginable, a chocolate fountain, and three long tables of all kinds of other dishes. I also was the recipient of a Sunday afternoon nap, which was the best gift I could have gotten from my husband! Ramy and I had had the opportunity to go on an actual date night for Valentines while my mom was here, so it was nice to do a Valentines brunch for all of us together on the actual Valentines Day. Today, we hung out here at the house and did a lot of stuff that needed to get done. I did loads and loads of laundry, while Ramy washed and vacuumed my car and had my tires rotated. Tonight, after dance class and dinner, I ironed while I watched the Bachelor, which is my Monday night guilty pleasure.
And now, it's time to start the week.
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