Last Day

Well, I woke up later than usual (yay,me!), so this might be a quick post. "That client" had no negative responses yesterday. That's two sessions without screaming and huge tantrums requiring assistance to remain safe! Two sessions!!

The heat hasn't broken but might today. Might. I have five sessions between me and the next break, and I am more than ready. I will have my room to myself today - the other two people who now share my space have taken today off. That means blissful, glorious silence during my rare non-session time.

I think I am ready for the next steps in my medical journey. I have almost everything that I need already. I just have to go get a couple of last minute prep materials, and I'm all set. I am nervous, anxious, and just plain old tired. On Monday, that step will be over, and all that will be left will be the recovery process. At least, let's hope that is the case. There is so much still unknown about what is going on with me.

Five sessions to go.

In the past couple of days, I have felt stuck in a therapeutic rut - doing the same things over and over again, limited creativity, difficulty getting excited about seeing my clients in music therapy, feeling relieved when clients are not present. These are my signs of being close to burnout and already into compassion fatigue, so it is time to focus on my ways out of these states and back into a therapeutic state of mind.

July 1 starts my retirement countdown. I will be leaving my current position at the end of June 2026 after 29 years of service (I will miss my 30th anniversary by 19 days). I am looking forward to my next iteration as a music therapist, so retirement is something that is exciting to me rather than a sad occasion. I am going to take a bit of time off before starting whatever will be next in my music therapy life. I don't know what I will do after June 30, 2026, but I find that exciting. I am going to formalize some things this year to make that shift a bit easier. More on that later.

I have 365 days left to be the staff music therapist at my facility. One year to be in the schedule, in the school, in the process of doing clinic-based, educational enrichment music therapy. After that, I will be doing something else.

For now, though, I am focusing on my current health and the five sessions between me and my break!

Time to take a shower and get going on my day. See you later!

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