Sharing Our Bonbons

Yesterday morning I went to a licensed nurse meeting at the Weird Home Health agency, in which the participants were informed that a requirement for working there is to be on call for one week, 24/7, for the whopping sum of $100.00. Wow. Considering that they also stated the expectation of this being a second job, it's not clear how they expect this to work out with full time work.

I also listened as the nursing director reamed out everyone who had worked the recent case [which I missed] for getting things wrong on the paperwork. I surprised myself by listening to him without feeling upset or hurt. The paperwork in question is pretty rinky-dink and not very self-explanatory. My opinion that this outfit doesn't know what it is doing continues to be confirmed. So far I have not had any work from them.

In the meantime my internet connection went on the fritz for twenty-four hours, which created some stress. I went to the weekly stress management session at WorkSource early this morning, and found it very productive for everyone. Other participants are facing as much difficulty as I am if not more.

One young mom revealed that she is also caring for her mother who has Alzheimers, and is trying to "do it all." We connected in a powerful way, both in the meeting, and in the corridor afterward, as I was able to let her know about some programs such as adult daycare that she did not know about, and to give her the message that being the responsible daughter does not necessarily mean she has to meet all her mother's needs directly, herself. It can be just as responsible for her to get help from other people and agencies, especially as her mother's disease escalates.

Not only do I think she really heard me, but she really felt supported and felt I "made her day" by what I said. These type of connections, to me, are gold. She also returned the favor by reflecting the positive things she saw in me; things I usually discount, being too busy beating myself up.

One of the things we talked about in the session was setting boundaries with the people and processes that claim our attention during the job hunt. We must take some time for ourselves, some time to do whatever brings us joy. One of the male participants had attended a different job club, and heard a family member telling him, "you just need to get back to work!" As if he hasn't been working at that. I said, "next time, offer to share your bonbons with them." He laughed at that.

Feeling better about my interactions with people, and thinking that whatever I do next needs to have an element of connecting with people and making their lives better, I came home for lunch. The cable person came over and fixed the cable connection. These people are always very bright and knowledgeable.

Yesterday I had a good talk with Zia, Enayat's daughter, who has had him as a guest most of the month. He is insisting that it's time for him to come home to Washington. Although the doctors and nurses at Good Samaritan expected Enayat to worsen right away, and we envisioned this being a one-way trip for him, he apparently has been compensating for his kidney disease for a long time. Zia and I agreed that it's really time for him to pilot his own ship and take care of himself, even if we disagree with him about his prospects living on his own. So he has boarded a jet for Washington this afternoon and should be here by the evening.

Well, life is tough, and the universe is full of love.