Musings...

I love reading other people's blogs and sometimes go through withdrawals when there haven't been any updates for a few days. While the more practical response to this withdrawal would be to go get a life, I instead realized that I am a hypocrite since I very rarely update. So, this will be a boring, general update post, but at least I'll get out of hypocrite territory:

1. I am now a few weeks into my last quarter. I've officially looked it up, and I am exactly 58 days from being DONE!!! (Coincidentally, Jenna, if you happen to be reading this, we're running on the same countdown! Although admittedly your countdown is way more exciting than mine).
2. New supervisor at work. I really like him, and feel like I'm learning a lot from him. I wish I would have had him for the whole year, but I think having the "bad" supervisor has taught me a few things. The most important lesson is the concept of self-care. My other supervisor was actually a wonderful, warm, compassionate, and experienced clinician. But she was burnt out. And she got to the point where she took on too much and it ultimately affected how she was able to serve others. I hope I don't do that as I serve in different capacities as a professional, friend, wife, mother, church member etc. Self-care is key! Be honest with your limitations, and allow time to yourself so you can refresh yourself to be the __fill-in-the-blank__ that you can be...whether that's a 15 minute jog, a painting class, a bubble bath, etc.

3. Relationships (don't worry, I think I stray from making this a bitter rant...it's more of a social work musing). They are so complicated! Whether it's a friendship, a parent/child thing, or a romantic interest, there are so many complex interactions that most people don't even recognize - many times we may be interacting on a subconscious level. People carry with them so much baggage - sometimes it's good baggage but usually not. I think it's important to remember that we really don't know a person until we ask not just about the objective facts of their life, but that person's subjective experience with their life. For example, I have this client who was recently kicked off his sports team and is doing poorly in school. He has snapped many times at other students, teachers, etc. Sounds like a typical little punk, right? Wrong. He's actually the sweetest kid, but very very depressed. Last week a teacher told him he took things too seriously when a girl "ripped him apart" and he got upset. The teacher didn't realize that this boy has been emotionally abused by his father his whole life, that he had been molested by a family friend when he was 6, and that he was actively thinking about suicide. So, obviously, what might seem like not that big of a deal to some - a girl at school being mean - is going to be a HUGE deal for this kid because he is bringing to this interaction his subjective experiences: no one can accept/love me for me, I am worthless to someone unless I can do exactly what they want, I have no unconditional love, etc. Of course this is an extreme example, but on a smaller scale, we all have experienced hurt, disappointment, loss... and hopefully love, nurture, hope, etc. that affects how we approach people and general things in life. Wow, that was a tangent. Sorry guys.

4. I realize I suck at a lot of things recently. These include, but are not limited to, sticking to goals, staying organized, explaining things, flirting, eating healthy, time management, saying good nighttime prayers, and not whining about things. There could be many more.