Life is...

...buying a house.
...having said home buying be delayed 5 days.
...enjoying 2 weeks of a new workout routine.
...watching your dog get sad you leave him to go work out.
...looking forward to Wednesday TV night with my Babe.
...realizing our Wednesday show has moved back an hour.
...finding all your favorite fruits on sale.
...acknowleding you can't eat every sale fruit in one week.
...full of suprises but a fun adventure every step of the way.

St. Patty's Day

Today my google reader was full of everyone sharing their pictures and stories at work about St. Patrick's day. It seems like everyone had something creative, exciting, or unique to do for the day. And, our staff luncheon discussion focused for some time around corned beef and cabbage. With the maiden name of McCollum, this had always been a big holiday. I wore green to avoid pinches as I am Irish. I had a visiting teacher who referred to me as "the Irish lass" for the whole day in middle school. I too ate corned beef and cabbage. Now, though, my last name is Stephens, which is English. And, no one knew yesterday that I could be pinched for not wearing green. And, I much prefer to wear the color blue. So, yesterday, for the first time ever, I chose to do nothing for the holiday. Well, almost nothing. I put a green hairband on my wrist just in case...

Alphabet Soup

Right now, I am swimming in letters. I am studying to take my ASWB Exam to get my LMSW. And I am tired of selecting A, B, C, or D as I do my practice questions. Then, there is the 60 page list of acronyms that could be relevant to social work practice included with my study materials. I must not confuse the CDI with the BDI. I must know that DBT is used with people who are diagnosed with BPD. I am also spending plenty of time reviewing my copy of the DSM IV-TR. And, I am going through all of this just to take my exam and then begin collecting CEUs. The scrambled letters seem like enough to make just about anyone dizzy. I am definitely ready for this exam to be over soon.

Are you my social worker?

In the three-plus months I have been at my new job, I have not heard any phrase more than, "Are you my social worker?" Most days, I can't help but feel like the poor dog on the cover of Are you my mother? by P.D. Eastman - tired, worn out, and possibly exasperated by the over anxious, energetic little bird. And, my patients, like that little bird, are just scared, confused, and wanting someone to help them. (Unlike the bird, though, they are also psychotic, paranoid, and delusional which makes it even worse.)

Most days in my job, I struggle to manage a caseload of 15, 20, or more patients who desperately want 100% of my time, energy, and attention. However, by the time I schedule morning report, treatment team, discharge arrangements, psychosocial assessments, groups, and family planning into my day, I usually don't have time to spend more than a few minutes of one on one time with each of my patients.

This past week, though, we were able to go on diversion for several days, and my caseload dropped below ten at the end of the week! It was so rewarding to actually have time to speak to all of my patients for more time than usual but not have to brush of the patients who weren't mine as well. I was able to speak to a woman who was very upset for just a few minutes, reassure her that she was able to find words in the crossword puzzle she was trying to do, and that yes, she was safe in the hospital.

While it may be chaotic on Monday when I return to work, at least I can feel a little bit renewed as to why I became a social worker. The next time someone asks me, "Are you my social worker?" I hope I can pause for just a moment longer to not just inform each person who their social worker actually is but to also share a smile and a bit of reassurance before I hurry quickly to my next task in my overly busy day.

The World's Worst Blogger

So...I guess it's pretty much official...I am the world's worst blogger. I did not even realize that it had been 2 1/2 months since I'd posted ANYTHING on here at all. Whoops. Between starting my new position December 1st, studying for my LMSW, being a wife to a first year medical student (I got to help Devin with his Neuro/Psych unit!), and buying a house, life has been a little crazy. Here's a synopsis of the past 11 weeks...

It was very exciting to put up our first Christmas tree together...I absolutely LOVED our first Christmas and everything that surrounded it. We got to start some fun traditions of our own and spend time with our families as well. It was a perfect balance.

We hung stockings for ourselves and Blue as well. He really got spoiled at Christmas.

One of Devin's presents was a grill from his parents. We have had a lot of fun learning to use it. (And, by we I mean him. I just like to watch and maybe make glazes and such.)

On Februaury 5, Blue turned 1 year old! It's crazy how the time has flown. Ironically, his best friend Charlie also turned 1 the same day. This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them from when Charlie was staying over.

On February 12, we had about a foot of snow here in Augusta. We played outside for a couple hours that night. After snowball fights, building a six and a half foot snowman, and chasing Blue around, we finished the night by building Blue a little snowcave. He couldn't quite understand why we made him sit in there, though.

And, last but definitely not least, this is a picture of the house we are buying. The picture is small and really doesn't do the house justice because I had to download it from Realtors.com, but I'm sure there will be many more pictures to follow. We are very excited and set to close on March 26. That's only three weeks from tomorrow!

So, that pretty much sums up our life in Augusta right now. Devin's doing well in school and really enjoying learning. I'm trying to decide whether it will be easier to take my LMSW while trying to get ready for closing on the house or while trying to paint and tile our new house. Thankfully, I only have to decide two days in advance, so I don't have to decide yet!