A pause for self appreciation...

In social work, one thing you learn early on is that it is very rare when anyone stops to say thank you for anything you've done for them. It's a gift to know you're doing something good and it has meaning and to let that be enough. Occasionally though there are days when others point out that what you do is important and necessary and valued. For me, today was one of those days.

As the final months of my job loom ahead, my immediate boss has let me know that he is working out some sort of plan so that I can remain employed at this agency where I have put in my very best for the last 15 years. Though I trust him implicitly I also know that he is not the final say in this matter so I am keeping my options open, hoping for the best and cautiously awaiting whatever comes. I decided to take this time to rev up my resume making it look better and up to date. I contacted some of the partner agencies I've worked with over the years and asked them to write a letter of reference for me to attach to my resume. Of the five agency presidents I've asked all five gave me an overwhelming yes AND all five have made job offers. Even though I'm intent on staying where I am those offers were generous and made me feel so valued. It was the best kind of thank you possible.

This afternoon, the Executive Director of my agency (my boss' boss - the big man)stopped by my office to chat. This is something he does quite often and normally the chats are casual, weather, sports, books and whatnot. Today he told me that he had heard that I was working on my resume. He said he wanted me to know one thing he's learned over the years. He said, "when you find someone of value, someone smart, someone who "gets" what this agency is all about, someone who will, without fail, take on challenges and come up with brilliant ideas that work, you hold onto those people whatever the cost". He told me that he intends to make sure that there will be a position for me at this agency for as long as I want it. And he went on to say that it would be a position worthy of my skills and intelligence and not just some odd job put together to retain me.

Well hot damn! I can tell you that for the rest of this night my ego was barely controllable. THAT was the biggest thank you I have ever received from anyone. It makes me feel so needed and wanted and appreciated. After 15 years, all the stress, the good times and the bad, the comings and goings of other staff, the changes in programs and clients and people and procedures, all of it just melted away and for the first time I actually realized (and dared to tell myself) that I am worth it. So...yeah for me!! And here's to whatever new challenges come my way.

Always leave them laughing...

I have never understood the intentions of those people, who when asked to leave a job or who leave on their own accord, have to stir up a shit storm of trouble to be cleaned up by those who remain. Case in point: In my capacity as the Care Management Supervisor, I have to work with many outside provider agencies and I've always tried to keep those working relationships as professional as possible. Recently, one of these agencies had a long time employee who just up and lost his fool mind. I don't know all of the details that led to him storming off the job (nor do I want to know the details...) but in his wake he has accused his former employer and co-workers of negligence and abuse. He's called the state licensing board causing them to come down from on high in mass proportions and launch full blown investigations. He's showed up here at my office demanding to meet with me, unannounced, uninvited and unwelcome. He's called his former co-workers at their place of work and at their homes. He's written letters to god knows how many people and just in general has been behaving badly. All of which just goes to show what a loose cannon he is but also all of which creates a mountain of work for those left behind to clean up the hellish damage he's done.

This isn't the first time I've seen this happen. Someone goes off on a toot, quits or gets fired, and their first reaction is to seek revenge. It's crazy and, quite frankly, pisses me off. And I have to ask myself, for what? What purpose does all this bull serve? None of what this nut job is saying is true so it's not going to hurt his former employee. And it certainly can't be helping him get another job in the care giving field. I think I'm witnessing a man self destruct on a grand scale. It's too bad too. It's hard seeing someone heading down the road to ruin without being able to point out to them where they took the wrong turn.