My best hiking buddy ever

He can walk for miles and miles and miles and not get bored, I love it!!!  He actually got mad at me when I told him we had to start heading back to the car to go home for dinner.  This is going to be great.

10 Years Ago

10 Years Ago I was married, finishing up my undergrad at Wayne State and making big plans for the future.  I was in the social sciences concentration with no particular idea of what I wanted to do next.  I was living in a 4 bedroom house that I hated cleaning and arguing with my husband about getting a smaller house so that we could get a small cottage up north and I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed every time we went camping and came home.  All in all, life was pretty good.

Then we went to a wedding on June 27th and everything changed.  The first change that I noticed was that he was holding on really tight to me when we took the group family picture.  Then he started complaining that his food wasn't quite right and he felt funny.  Then he wouldn't go back into the reception.  Then he thought that he had been poisoned by his cousin.  Then we were driving home and he told me all about this guy at work that wanted to kill him because he saw a drug deal.  Then he told me we had to leave the house, that it was no longer safe.  Then then then . . .

In the next few weeks, I received a crash course in Paranoid Schizophrenia that no 22 year old should have received.  I also learned all about dual diagnosis as he began drinking as a way of coping with his illness.  I also learned that when schizophrenic psychos are watching TV, you can never really be sure what they are seeing and that it is better to leave it off, unless you want to replace it.

One thing that I did along the way was to change my major to marketing.  I was already working in the field and I needed to get done with school asap so that I could get a real job to make up for all of his missed time.  This was the only time in my life that I had ever really settled and took the easy way out.

Today, he is gone.   Today I am finishing up my MSW and know that specifically I want to work with dual diagnosis clients.  Today I live up north in that small cottage.  It's nice and quiet and easy to maintain and my son can enjoy playing in the creek, chasing the deer and catching the frogs.  Today, we are good.

How did all this goodness happen-only by the grace of God.

Compassion cannot be found in isolation

If you raise your child to only listen to Christian music, attend only Christian schools, hang out only with Christians and do only Christian things-when do you teach them compassion?  How do they learn understanding, acceptance and forgiveness?

Is it on a mission trip to some far distant land, where the distinctions between us and them are clear and concise?  Is it by feeding the homeless where again it's pretty easy to see that "they" are hurting?

And even scarier, what happens when these children are all grown up and make some mistakes?  Will this faith based on compassion for only those that are way different be enough to get them through it?  After all, their mistakes might not actually take them into the far reaches of central and south America or make them homeless in Detroit.  

What happens when the child grows up and for a moment becomes one of those other people that we don't talk about?  Will their faith be strong enough to bring them back?

Can you be a Social Worker and a Christian?

A while back when I was interviewing for my second year placement it was brought up that I was a Christian.  The woman interviewing me took the conversation "off the record" and asked me what I thought about working in the secular world while being a Christian.  I told her it was frustrating when I was at church and she couldn't agree with me more.  We talked about the awkward stares and downright judgemental comments that we receive when we speak about what we do to good christian folk.  The "how can you work with THOSE people" and "oh that must be HARD" and "THOSE PEOPLE just don't get it" kind of comments that constantly make my heart sink.  

On the other hand, in the few cases that clients have found out about it, they are usually happy and even go so far as say that this was the first time a Christian treated them decently.  Most of the time it's the "spiritual but not religious" folks that have been burned by well intentioned Christians for far too long.

We also both agreed in the end, that no matter what other Christians may think, we wouldn't be anywhere else, that we love our clients and that the key values and ethical standards that drive us as social workers are VERY christian indeed.

So for those of you that have not had a chance to check out the NASW Code of Ethics.

Here's a peak at some of my favorites and you tell me what you think . . . . . . call me crazy but I think the biggest hang up is on the whole non-judgemental theory and allowing the client to ultimately make their own choices in life.  Being there without being in control is really hard to do.

Potter Park Zoo and T-Ball

Joey's first hit.

Out in the field.

The pre-game excitement.

Three little monkeys playing at the zoo.

Here the boys are again . . .

My little lemur.

Help Wanted . . .

OK so since the dealer wouldn't give me what I wanted for trade-in (they were about $800 off).  I decided to sell my car out right.  Not thinking I put it on Craig's List yesterday without even preparing/cleaning it.  Now I got tons of emails from people that want to see it.  Because of my schedule, they are all being pushy and then two people had the nerve to not show after I made special arrangements with them.  This is a HUGE pain in the you know what and one of those cases where if anyone volunteered I would be more than happy for the help, grrrrr.

Incidentally I even told my friend that she could buy it for what I owe after she sells her truck.  They need it and would greatly benefit from it and it's not like I really NEED a new car right now.  I just want one.  As long I get a new car before I graduate next year, I will be fine.   

Big huge sigh, I don't even want to check my email anymore.

Home Town No More

How sad . . .

No More Electric House

So electrician guy was here half the day yesterday trying to determine the source of the electric. 

 What he found out was that it was in the heat ducts as well and basically every metal object in the house was "charged".  

Finally after working and moving things he managed to get the house to a point where it would not read anything anymore.  Then he put everything back together and still no reading.  

I think we are good now, we shall see . . .

I think my house was just trying to tell me that I needed some electro-shock therapy or something.