O.S. Week/ Happy Independence Day!

Good LORD!!!

How did time go by so quickly? When I made the decision to participate in Up With People, I thought in my head, "First I go to Blue Man Group, then Pride, then I'll leave my job, then I'll have a party to say goodbye to my friends, then I freak out and pack, and finally....I head out to Denver"

So, I'm at the 'freak out and pack' part of my UWP experience. Oy ve, how do I pack for 6 months, only being allowed to take one carryon and one check-in bag? Weeks ago I gave a fellow participant the advice that he should pack for a year in New England, with all its crazy weather. Now it's time for me to take my own advice.....Blah! This isn't likely going to be pretty.

Thankfully, I've had a good past few weeks. Last week I finished up with work. The stars aligned in just the right way because our building was closed for the entire week for construction. This was perfect for me as it allowed the clients a bit of a summer break from the program and it gave me a chance to get my paperwork done. I just needed to help out with a few things here and there. Though there were a few "bobbles", such as the power going down (after I had been working on an assessment for three hours), and many distractions (i.e. chats with my supervisor and lunches with co-workers), I was able to tie most things up by friday. I even had the opportunity to have a nice chat with a former client.

I was lucky, my client sessions and my groups went well, helping me to leave on a good note. In addition, my co-workers took me out for a wonderful dinner. I am really quite fortunate to work with such wonderful people. The mental health field is amazingly stressful and it is crucial to have a good, strong team that supports its members. I've found that with them.

I've also been blessed with many great friends who like to feed me :) I haven't eaten this well in months! (Hopfully by the time I get back I will have worked it all off). For the past two weeks I've gone out to eat more times than I can count! Many thanks to the Pelletiers (how did I not take a picture of all us together!!!???),Amy, Todd & Vitaliy, Dana'n'Penny, Matt, Julie, and Dan (that was magnificent).

To top it all off, this past weekend my friends, Mom and Chuck, and I had a nice brunch-into-dinner party (or as my Mom likes to call it "Mobile IHOP") to celebrate my trip. There was egg casserole, spinach dip, chocolate dipped fruit, peanut butter and fudge squares, pizza, mimosas and many other, um, "beverages". We laughed. We danced. We played card games. All that and the weather was great to boot!

Alrighty. I've got to get back to packing. Though I've got to say. Life can get darn frustrating. Family, friends, and co-workers make it worth living.