In Good Form?
Morning, just me. We’re like only part way here this morning, because we are still deciding whether we should go over to school. I’d like to, but our minds messed up again. We tried to fix it by taking a walk on the tread mill, but we’re still off. Like there was a weight sitting over my left eye. Kinda like a hovering depression. We’re hopin its because we aren’t done with our first cup of coffee. Time will tell.
I don’t think much interesting happended at work yesterday. I’m having trouble remembering it now … Well, at least there was some interesting thing. The secretary came to my office after lunch and shut the door. I thought hmm, this is different, wonder what’s so important? Then she apologized for asking such a personal question, but she was wandering if I had spilled something on her chair when I was up front watching over things. I’m thinking I looked pretty confused. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” My mind had gone toward the worst possible thought in that maybe I’d had an uncontrolled time of the month thingie, I was feeling panic. Then I reached down and felt the seat of my chair … no, no … no wetness here? I brushed my hand against the back of my dress. Wow, I thought this is extremely embarrassing. But, there were no wet spots.
Then the secretary looking calm as peaches said, well if that were the case and it wasn’t you, I think my water just broke. Pretty sure at this statement you could have picked my jaw up from the floor. But, she was just standing there waiting for my reaction I think. Umm, if this were the case, don’t you think you should be doing something? Maybe going somewhere like a HOSPITAL!!!! The secretary is like … well, I suppose maybe I should tell Sr. Tess. Oh Lordy, tell someone … you can’t have a baby in my office! I don’t know at least one of us might have been in shock, but I think I was more the one who was ready to start ringing all the emergency bells. Hmpf!
As things go … she was dismissed for the day by Sr. Tess. Hehhehehe.
The other staff had her baby. I’m not real sure about the situation though. We know it was a little boy. Something bad might have happened though. Sr. is still looking pretty concerned about the situation. She isn’t telling all that she knows except things had gotten pretty dangerous and it had been a C-section. Rumor is that there was some difficulty with his lungs and it was too early to tell. I’m not sure if his brain was blocked from oxygen. All prayers go out to the staff and her family, and even more prayers go out for the secretary. Lot’s of baby business in the wind. I’m not drinking at the same water fountain, just in case…
I think we were pretty focused on work at work. I’d lost 3-4 hours the day before from subbing for a DSP. Without the DSP who had the baby, and the one who left, we’re running a little short staffed, especially if Sr. Tess takes the driver to do some important errands like getting the bank business done so we can get our checks.
Oh oh … someone gave up the ship about here … Went back to bed for another hour. We’re up now though. Wrote Sr. and told her we were running about an hour behind. Could go in now, but still groggy. So, we took our medicine and a little break. Funniest thing … we’d set the little timer and had left it on our chest … It took about 7-8 to get up from there and when we did, we peeked over the covers and there sitting on the other side was the happiest looking Missy. Apparently, she’d slept the whole hour on top our tummy and she had the most delightful full curved smile on her face. That was a snapshot that will last a lifetime!
V. just showed me something … was pretty neat. We don’t think he had known we were sneak power nappin … It’s ok, though right?
My mind is still running pretty blank. There was one thing else I remember. We had worked earlier this week in updating the journals. It happens as you finish one and need to start the next. Each one is 48 pages and lasts about a month and a half. This is the third work journal. I combed through the last and explained in the new briefly what had been left undone. Then I added a reference number so that each entry only took about 3 lines. There were 42 entries of things left undone. Some were a lot of stuff condensed to a simple entry. Like I know I have to do Annuals – and there are 20 of them, but that only took up one line, or, like going over with each of the five DSPs the client goals again. Those are the BIG projects. There are other simple things like check in on a particular client, clean the accordion file, or write a small 5 page paper for the fitness program. Just lots and lots to be doing. So, then we went back and put our 1” sticky dots on the items that represents “Hot!” One-three days, one week, two weeks, and one month or longer. There was like 9 red hot dots, 12 Orange dots (1-3), 10 yellow week dots, 4 blue in a couple week dots, and 7 green one month dots. So, then because it seemed so overwhelming. We took our highlighter and just marked a couple of words that would help us skim through the list fast. Then we wrote those short cut words on an index card that had red dots on them and closed the big journal. We looked seriously at the index card and decided to mark priorities on them one through nine. I’m thinking there’s getting to be not much more room for passive observation. I’m going to have to do something. So, we boldly took the first item (a quickie). We needed to call a blind parent that has been avoiding coming in to sign papers for the testing that needs to be done for her son. Ok, ok … I gotta be my bad self and push her a bit.
That got done ok. Then I looked steadily at the next chore. I needed to someone how move my crying client to the other room, which was going to make an unhappy staff to be receiving her. I thought fine … I’m going to handle this … that ended up taking a half hour getting her over and adjusted. To get her out of the old room, we had to move her whole group to the other room, then we slipped her into place and the rest of the group went back to their room. There is no end to the sneakiness of me. She lasted in there about 25 minutes yayyyyy…. Gotta try the same thing today. Then we did another small one, but then it came … We were looking smack dab in the middle of the worst chore in the book. We’d avoiding writing the Annual reports since last July … and here it was in front of me … couldn’t side step it, or jump over it. Damm. Our Vangel was sitting on my right shoulder saying, just do it! The amount of whimpering was pathetic. I’d gone somewhere no one wants to go … Right to the middle of my biggest procrastination project. And, if that didn’t make it bad … it had two parts. I would also have to write a couple of pages for each of the 20 reports a set of objectives and goals. My poor little heart was quivering. I had completed over the last couple of days the other reports that had gone with this. They were 8 page booklets of diagnostic questions as to the adaptive and maladaptive behavior of the clients. I had to do six of them, then record the results on a computer form, and then send it to the state. With this courage found from having mustard a long-standing chore left open … I gathered all the bravery, I usually store down in my little toes. And, I said to myself come hell or high water; I am going to get this nasty chore done!
Wasn’t sure though how to do it. I thought stop! Right there stop! This is just another evasive thought not to get the work done! So I had to think very hard. Ok, we are going to do something … that something is ……… pick up the first file. Ok, I could do that. Open it to where the annual notes were in the folder. K. Looks very scary. It’s ok, shhhh babe, no one said it was going to be easy. We knew enough to take the book over to the big computer. We needed to think it through. We need to pull up the last years report, because a good part of it would be duplicated. Then we needed to pull up last year’s goals and objectives. Anything else? YES! We needed to pull up a copy of the signature page which would be the last page of the report. Better explain that one … We’d gone through the whole client load noting the date each meeting had been and pre-written the signature pages for each. Then folded them, stuffed them in envelopes and distributed them to the proper clients or staff. Ok, this is happening.
Is this a bad thing? YES! I am so extremely behind that it is incredible. This is what happens when you work for an agency funded by the government with not enough staff resources to cover the load. If I had been doing just this stuff, which is standard fair for a QMRP … then all would have been fine. BUT, there is staff training, groups, meetings, programs to develop, and accreditation to get through to name a few, plus those silly monthly progress notes and much more. Because in reality you always have to take care of the immediate business leaving the paperwork in a secondary position. I told our friend last night finally, how backed up we were … He said, it can’t be that bad. How did you get through the state inspection? I told him that for each client, we had written about 2-5 pages summarizing his year in the program and since the meeting had a cover sheet signed at the meeting, the state assumed it was the report. That was kind of a sneaky thing to do. By all rights I should have my butt reamed and fired! Unfortunately, you would have a hard time in this state finding another Q, who wasn’t similarly disposed. It’s the nature of the beast.
So … after the last letter went out and I’d stopped hyperventilating worrying that Sr. would find out the depth of my shame … I looked seriously at the first page of the first annual. In our case we start our client caseload on the letter “C”. I take notes at the meetings and the goals had been fairly sketched out and now in practice, so we started to write. I condensed the one section so that it only covered the progress of the goals. Thought we needed a simple formula if we were going to get the job done. All in all it is a four page report to write for each client. Since I had information relating to the 2 pages of goals and objectives, I decided to do this Part B. at the same time. When all the dust had cleared … I had completed 3 clients work. Considering how many other things were done during the day, in reality … I’m not sure if each client really takes more than an hour to complete. I forgot to note the time. BUT, if this were the case, it would mean, possibly with all other tasks considered I could have this entire VERY bad chore done by next Friday.
Now … do we need to cover how much peace and satisfaction there is when you get done the things that are really really hard? Months and months avoidance, only to be ended with a good week’s worth done. I think if it weren’t for V’s reminder we need to get into the shower … we would pause here to have a nervous breakdown. BUT, as all good things go … today is a Thursday which means the assistant is in! And, we’re going to finally have a Dr. M. Day. So, with all that said, we are going to tuck our whimpering noises into our pocket, and proceed with the day. Maybe an hour short, but certainly not forgotten.
YAYYYYYY! We’re doin it! Gotta go ... because we're going to DO IT some more!
posted by Ann Marie @ 3/02/2006 07:27:00 AM
Comments: 6
