So Lucky To Love My Job

This week has just flown by because I had a lot of meetings at work. We've had several admission meetings of people graduating from high school and coming into our program. I am busiest at those meetings because I'm trying to get a stack of pages signed, W-4 and I-9 forms filled out, while collecting names and addresses and phone numbers. These days I also ask for email addresses. Plus we're trying to fill out a risk management form (13 pages) while I'm talking and asking questions and giving orientation. I come out of admit meetings exhausted, hoping I got it all done. It's interesting to watch people at these meetings. If a teacher attends, they're either a little misty eyed (teachers are softies) or trying to hold back their glee at seeing someone graduate. The people themselves are sometimes cautious, anxious, or eager. The parents of these new participants, almost all of them will need supervision for the rest of their lives, sometimes have the hardest time of all. I try to put myself into the shoes of a parent of a person being admitted to Achieve Services. I imagine it is a little like sending a kid off to college or to the military. It's hard to let go sometimes. But college or the military means the child will become more independent and eventually live on their own. They will learn to fight their own battles and solve their own problems. For parents of Achieve participants, these kids may not ever live on their own. They'll always be vulnerable. Maybe they don't have the skills to eat by themselves, or cook a meal, or walk un-aided. Or maybe they're too trusting of strangers or too affectionate. Maybe they will give their money to anyone who asks for it or they can't count the change to know if a store clerk has ripped them off. It has to be hard for these parents at admission meetings. After they learn to trust us, to know that Achieve staff will keep their person safe from harm and busy working, they can relax a little bit. A few phone calls during that first month go a long way to earning trust. One parent burst into tears after the admission meeting. I never saw that coming. At a meeting of a long-timer today, the parent said their son moved into his group home 18 years ago. I was shocked. I remember when he lived at home and when he moved into that group home. Golly, I am so old! I've been meeting with these parents for almost 20 years now - twice a year, May and November. We have a good relationship. We don't know each other well but we know each other long. People fascinate me. That is why I am so lucky to love my job.