I'll lend you my ear

Taken today at my grandma's.
There are days where I wake up and want nothing more than to shut off the alarm and stay in bed. Lately there have been more of those days. Today was one. My late night shopping trip wore me out. I remember those days at EIU when I was able to stay up until the wee hours finishing that paper or studying for that test I had put off until the last possible minute. I have fond memories of playing Tetris in lieu of studying. If I remember right, Kimberly may even have the evidence capture on VHS. I digress. I made it to work on time, somehow. Slowly I started my day deciding which chart to attack first. Oh the paperwork. Why must the state have so much paperwork? Why must we kill so many trees on a daily basis?

My morning was not all that bad. I left for lunch early so that I could get out and do an unexpected home visit. I was going to do it after my 2 already scheduled visits but decided to squeeze it in early. When I called to let them know I was coming early the son said, "Oh, bless you. I know you are busy. I really appreciate it." Ha. Just doing my job, sir. After that I went to see a client of mine that has been on our service since '96. Her home is aging with her and slowly falling apart. There are creatures large and small in there. I tried my best to not pay attention to the little dog licking my toes, but it was difficult to concentrate. She told me about her problems and I listened. We talked about her current service and add some things to help her out. As I was trying to leave she thanked me for everything we do for her and that she "doesn't know what she would do without the help." She gave me a hug (believe it or not she is shorter than me) and I told her she was welcome. My last client is what one would call a talker. I sat and listened to her stories and everything that has happened to her family lately: sickness, death, financial issues.

As I sat there I could not help but think that I am blessed. I have a job that allows me to go into homes of those who are in need. They have so many needs that I can not meet, but there is one thing I can do and that is to listen. How many people get to do that and get paid? Sure I ask them tons of questions and make them sign even more pieces of papers. Most of all though I listen and try my best to show them that I care about what it is they are going through and if there is any way at all I can help them out I will. My last client ran over a little and I didn't get back to work until after it was "quitting" time. Oh, well. If I made one person feel a little better today by letting some things out then I feel like I did my job. The paperwork can wait.

So, the moral of the story? When the alarm goes off and I don't want to get out of bed I'm going to try to remember days like today when I feel like I just might have mattered a little to someone out there. I know that I chose the right field. When I graduated high school 10 years ago I had no idea what Gerontology was. I never would imagine that I would some day earn my Masters degree in the field. God's hand was completely in this one.

I'll end my post with a picture of me showing off my rather large zucchini plants. Can you tell I'm proud of them?