Thoughtful Thursday: Glad You Came
That was yesterday for me.
I spent a long time yesterday, debating about whether I wanted to go to work or not. The answer to that debate was that I really didn't want to go, but I went anyway because I have bills to pay and a tendency towards using sick time because I get really sick. I decided that since I was thinking so much about whether I wanted to go or not, I obviously did not need to take the time off. That was never really something that I was going to do - I just needed to whinge and whine a bit.
Wednesdays are something I dread. It used to be tied to one particular client, but that client is now seen on Mondays, so I'm not sure why Wednesdays still fill me with so much of an "ugh" feeling. Yesterday, there were some students who were "off" during music therapy, but the scuttlebutt around work is that students were "off" everywhere! We left after our eight hours were up rather than staying the additional 30 minutes. We just needed to get out after some rough afternoon sessions and having to watch required trainings on abuse, neglect, and unhoused persons. We have two more trainings to do - suicide prevention and sexual harassment - before we are done with those required trainings. Not my favorite thing to do, but it is required.
Thursdays and Fridays are better days for me. I have four groups today and one individual. I also have one meeting. Tomorrow's schedule is even lighter - two groups, intern supervision, bus duty, and that's all. I like that, and it helps to have less obligations on the back end of the week. I prefer to have less groups on Fridays, but I wish my groups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays were spread out on Monday and Thursday. It would be nice to have five groups each day rather than three days with three or four scheduled groups and two days with six and seven groups. That, however, will not change, so I just have to work the schedule I'm given.
This week, we are making music with the silly sound buttons. We are also playing instrument BINGO and doing lots of movement experiences because we cannot go outside and run off all our energy. It is just too hot outside for any sort of recess or time outside. The music therapy room has to become a place to move. Since we have two more days of our excessive heat warning, we will keep this up until we can tire out bodies in the fresh air again. Let's hope that will happen starting on Saturday.
I am glad that I went to work yesterday. I took an extra half hour before heading in, so I ended up only working fifteen minutes more than the eight hours that I am supposed to work rather than the nine hours that I usually work when I have interns around. I might do the same thing today. It was good to drive to work in the dawn and not get behind all the school buses. There was only one in yesterday's morning commute. There was one in yesterday's evening commute - different buses. Getting stuck behind buses and combines are the biggest traffic jams that I get in during this commute of mine. I much prefer these jams to the ones I got into driving half the distance in Southern California.
Perspective helps.
I used to take 90 minutes to travel 20 miles from work to home in the afternoons. Now, it takes me 45 minutes to travel 50 miles in the morning and 55 minutes in the afternoons. (There is much more traffic going into my town in the afternoons than there is leaving in the mornings.) I like that I can drive that much distance in less time.
So, when I think about yesterday's attitude and how things turned out during the day, I am glad that I went. I am glad that I was able to provide a place for kids to express themselves. I am glad that I was there for my intern who had some challenging sessions yesterday but rose to the occasion. I am glad that I did not spend 8 of my precious sick time hours for a day where I was not really sick but just tired of it all.
One of the teachers remarked (again) that having us in the classroom seemed to calm his students down significantly. I hope that this is what happens with as many of our students as possible.
I have a couple of blogs that I follow at work. One is called The Positivity Blog. There are some interesting posts on that blog. Yesterday, I did some reflexive journaling about fear. I will continue the writing today. This is a practice that I try to sustain when I can - that of reflexive and reflective journaling. I try to encourage my interns to do the same thing. This blog is part of that journaling practice, but I also have a written book. That never gets shared with others. I like having some private thoughts about things. Yesterday, even though I did not feel like being a therapist, I was able to do just that - be a therapist, reflexive in my thoughts and actions to match my clients where they were and where they wanted to be.
Time to head to work.
Comments
Post a Comment