Challenges

It's easy to let one day slide into the next working here. The faces become blurred, the stories run together, and even the staff begin to all look the same. Since I last wrote a post, I have done three physical managements, worked with probably a good 50 girls, and counted the minutes till shift change God-only-knows how often.

I love my job, I love the girls I've worked with and continue to work with, and I enjoy most of the staff. But even chaos becomes mundane after a while.

Today was what we call challenging and what non-staff would call flat-out impossible. Even our longest veterans agreed it was in the top 5 for crazy days. Every 10 minutes or so, someone else would go off. Chairs were thrown, tables tipped, windows and walls punched. A challenging day.

I admit, it got to me after a while. My girls could not go to bed because some of the other patients down the bedroom halls were making the entire area unsafe. It felt like I had one girl crammed in each corner, hands over their ears or mouths, eyes wide, hunched into little balls, and I could do nothing to help them because I had to help with the patients who were the threats. Challenging.

And yet, at the end of the day, I go home knowing we did good. The threats were dealt with, the children comforted and asleep, the group rooms tidied and the nurse's desk organized. Some will probably go out for a drink; I will go home to a book. I like books. They are like alcohol for the soul, sweet, addicting, and diverting.

And I will gather the strength to face the challenges of tomorrow.