Bad/Good

Too tired to think of a clever way to do this.

BAD

-The morning before the girls took the ACT, I made them sausage patties. They were gray when coming out of the freezer and very greasy when cooked. They seemed pretty disgusting to me, but the girls love any kind of meat, so I followed what it said to do on the package. After I drove home and parked the car, I got out and saw a patty with ONE bite taken out of it laying on the ground. I mean, come on. At LEAST have the decency to put it in the trash so that I don't see it.

-Today, I called Michelle* "Melissa*" (another scholar's name) by accident. She seemed offended and said she's never once heard me call her the right name. I felt like crap.

-On the way to the college fair, one of the boys from the boys' house made a rude comment towards me and two of my girls laughed. I should have called him out but I chickened out. The girls NEVER would have laughed a) if one of the girls had said that, rather than a scholar from the boys' house, or b) if it had been another houseparent. So that was frusturating, particularly because I didn't stand up for myself. Sometimes in those moments when scholars are disrespectful to me (which are few and far between but they do happen), I'm caught off guard and rather than responding, I just shut down.

GOOD

-Sylvie helped me put together some stuff for the Organization X dinner with the CEO tonight, which was really sweet. She also helped me do house laundry over the weekend (even though she didn't have to).

-Had a good conversation with Gloria* about musicals/acting. It was nice to see her being excited and passionate about something (instead of whining, as per usual).

-Got a very complimentary e-mail about Nelly* from her teacher, saying that she is one of her best students. I wasn't surprised, because I already knew Nelly is an awesome student, but it made me happy to see that her teacher noticed.

-The college fair was helpful. I got a lot of great pamphlets/materials for the girls and for my bullitan board. I also had some interesting conversations with the various college admissions people who were there. It was kind of nice to talk to adults, for once. I felt very adult (despite getting mistaken for a high school student multiple times, no surprise there), which was strange, but fun.

-Generally, I'm connecting with most of the scholars. I feel most comfortable around Nelly, Nina and Julia*. Melissa seems a little TOO comfortable around me (as in, wanting to discuss inappropriate topics like drinking and how much she hates my boss, who I also hate but can't really undermine) so I need set boundaries. The rest I could get to know a little better, which will come with time, I think.



Thanks to everyone for reading this and being so supportive. Having so many amazing people to cherish in my life keeps me going during the bad moments, and I LOVE sharing the good moments with all of you, work-related or otherwise.

--Rebecca