Thoughtful Thursday: Crappy Days

Yesterday was a challenging day.

Not because of clients - they were just what I expect from my clients - but the staff and the universe conspired against me - AGAIN!

I was called to the principal's office to discuss an event that happened during my Tuesday sessions. I have a client who is targeting me and new staff who do not understand that the reason that he is targeting me is to get attention from a preferred staff member who is not in the session anymore - for some reason unknown to the teachers in this school. When the preferred staff member arrives, this client will stop engaging in targeting me and will sit next to the preferred staff member. I have requested that this staff member stop engaging with the client during his outbursts and instead attend to all the students who are engaging appropriately. I have asked this staff member over and over again to not reinforce the attacks by paying attention to the client.

Anyway, this client attacked me on Tuesday - hit me in the face with a drum. The new staff members decided to place the client in an assist - without my needing it, by the way, and then called the preferred staff to the room. Three people arrived, and I tried communicating with the preferred staff member about what I needed. I tend to do this is a quiet manner because there is already lots of noise going on.

Anyway, someone complained that I "body positioned" a staff member, keeping them from getting to the assist.

Now, I stepped into the path of the preferred staff member, and I gestured to the other students who were sitting in the midst of this chaos, so I can see how it would look, but the preferred staff member has not completed any of my requests in my sessions for my needs for behavior management. Rather than speaking to me directly, one of the staff members (I don't know who) decided to complain about me to their supervisors and then that complaint was passed to my supervisor who passed it on to me.

After that confrontation, I cried in my office for about an hour. After the therapy day was over, all of the "specials" personnel met together. It turns out that I am the only one who is being called into the principal's office, but everyone is frustrated with how our staff members are interacting in our specialties. After about two hours of talking, it was late. I went out to my car and had a dead battery. Turn the key, and nothing.

I had to wait an addition 75 minutes before the truck came to jump the battery. I then had to drive to town and get a new battery - to the tune of $274 dollars! I also have to get a new tire, change out the brake fluid, and inspect all sorts of things. That will be another $415 dollars for today's maintenance. I also had to take one of my rare and necessary days off to accomplish all of this - AFTER being called into the office so it looks like I can't handle being criticized.

I was going to go on a mini-break this month - head out for a little bit of tourist activities someplace new, but I can't afford it now that I have had to do so much work on the car. I am currently stuck in a self-pitying mood, crying on the couch and feeling horrible about all sorts of things. 

Knowing that this will pass is not comforting right now. I have three hours before I head to the car place to get a new tire and all sorts of other stuff done. Ugh. I don't feel like I will be able to do much, but I do have a mushy banana that I could turn into banana bread and hamburger to make into meatloaf and meatballs and spaghetti sauce. I have dishes to do because my dishwasher has stopped working - for some reason - and things have piled up.

I just have little energy for anything right now.

Yesterday and today are crappy days. 

These days happen. It tends to go like this - lots all at once. I wish things were a bit less hectic at the moment, but it is what it is, so I will ride this wave and claw my way back to solid ground.

Meatloaf is calling me, so off I go. Thanks for being out there - in the void. I appreciate it!