Randomocity 120110

Today, I almost felt anxious about going to work. Maybe because I didn't work much last week due to the holiday. Whatever the reason, it was an unpleasant feeling. But as I was greeted with lots of smiles and hugs from most of the kids, whom all but one hadn't seen me in about ten days, I felt much better. Its strange that I'd miss them, being the buggers they are, but I did.

By far, this was the smoothest Wednesday I've worked in months. Typically, Wednesdays are rough. I usually work with random fill-in staff who are . . . not the strongest. But the empty position in our house has been filled, and I really enjoyed working with the new guy! He is coming from more of a correctional background, opposed to our therapeutic milieu, so he has some adjustments to make, but he is fully aware of them and is very receptive to feedback. He also had a lot of nice things to say to me about my approach with the kids, so that was very encouraging.

With today being the first day of December, and our group-home being decorated for the holidays, I've been thinking a lot about Christmas today. Not in the 'meaning of Christmas' sense of thinking about it, but more like the 'hustle and bustle, holiday cheer' kind of thinking. Our Christmas decorations couldn't fit into the moving truck when we packed up for SoCal, so they are in IN still. Our finances aren't exactly awesome right now, so it'd be dumb to spend money on a tree and lights, especially since we don't have any children in our home. So compared to my group-home, our apartment is a little . . . bah hum bug.

But, in thinking through this, I remembered these awesome Christmas mugs my mom bought us a few years ago. Kimberly has a penguin mug, and I have a snowman one. So, when I got home from work around midnight, I dug through the cupboards until I came across my snowman mug. It says "Winter Blessings" on it, and my favorite part of it is the snowman face on the inside of the cup. I put some water on, then had a nice hot cup of tea to help me unwind from the day, and to feel a little Christmasy.

Thanks, Mom!