Let Freedom Ring

I absolutely love long weekends. Right now, I'm at my parents' house, celebrating July 4th weekend and my Dad's birthday. We haven't done much but it's been fun. Working with families as I do, and seeing such turbulent relationships, makes me so grateful for the relationship I have, and have pretty much always had, with my parents. We don't agree on everything but they let me be who I am. And I've accepted them (finally) as they are.

Not too much has changed since my previous post. Unlike last summer, I'm actually having a little fun (working at Youth Villages last year didn't allow much time for fun...hard to believe I would have been there 1 year this month if I had stayed). I've been trying to spend as much time with friends as possible because they keep my spirits up when I'm feeling defeated (a common feeling when you work in the mental health field). Speaking of which, things with work are going well. My team welcomed our new member, Jackie, and she's been doing a great job so far. It's amazing how different the atmosphere has been during team meetings in comparison to when my old team member was there. With the previous one, I always felt like I was walking on eggshells but, with my current team, I feel like I can be myself and have a little credibility as a supervisor at the same time. A big improvement. In addition, one of my friends from grad school, Carrie, recently started as a CST lead. It's been nice to have a familiar face in the office. I've been trying to help her out as much as possible because I remember all too well how lost you can feel when you're new.

My social/love life... Sigh. I won't even go there. It's far too complicated.

I'm going to New York City in August with the amazing Ashley Phipps! It was a completely spontaneous decision. When she first asked me, I thought there was no way I could go. Between work and having to pay a ridiculous amount of bills every month (thank you, school loans), I just figured I couldn't do it. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized WHY NOT? I have the time off and, after Ashley did the calculations, I saw that it wasn't going to cost THAT much, especially considering the fact that we're seeing two (yes, two!) shows while we're there. Did I mention that the beautiful and incredible DANIEL RADCLIFFE is starring in one of these shows??? I vow right now to try everything I can to meet that man. I mean, how many more opportunities will I have? Only a few more weeks to wait!

The summer is shaping up quite nicely :)