"Teamwork" Making the World Around us Work for Us All.

When a smile finds it way to your heart as well as your face then you know that whatever is going on is a natural event. One where it just happens and does not have to be forced because its fake. Some moments just make you realize that when people feel the need to work as a whole for the better good of all involved then the pieces just seem to fall together naturally.
Living life as a Social Worker you can see so many different events in life, both good and bad. Perhaps, its because of the volume of people that we meet, greet and try to assist. Then again it could be the number of children that we "can meet" that seem to be lost and losing more ground everyday in this complicated world. There are good and troubled people every where we look but when you look closer you can see generations of people learning to live in a whole new way.
Many of our children are learning to adapt to some of the adults and yes even some of their own peers that they can find troublesome in their lives. The children are learning to become strong early on with the help of many advocates that pull together not only to assist the children who are hurting but their families as well.
Though I have talked about the pain involved and the difficulties that develop out of what some  children go through, this is not completely why I write this story. For today, I wanna point out that its noted how many people in this world have hard jobs. The number of those people who physically and mentally fall apart each day as they head home to their own families is unbelievable. My intentions, are to praise all those workers who sometimes turn their heads, or at least want to,  so others don't see them cry. Others who walk in a different room or at least make it to their vehicles after a  long day and cry because they just don't know if they helped someone make a good decision or not. If they used the exact words the person needed to know when a child or an adult ask them if they have to go back to the place that they keep getting hurt at. So many of us advocates in this world are there to assist but all to many times we are a band-aid on the situations. The important part is that we never stop trying to make someones world a little better. Its true that we could harp on all the bad things that we see but then who would be left to tell about all the positives that come out of some of this worlds biggest disasters.
We all learn from what we see and experience from the world we live in. Whether we are an adult or a young child we learn and develop into bigger and better or at least more complicated decision makers.
I recently have watched a team of advocates share details and work with other legal advocates to change lives in this world. They were awesome as they gave information, accepted information, listened to suggestions and openly discussed new directions. It was a reminder to me that being an advocate is not about who is right or wrong or even who can do more than another. Its about joining together for whatever population you are helping at the time. Presenting a strong front while being open to new suggestions and direction for all involved. Its about being a "Team Player." A strong person, an assertive but not aggressive person who is willing to practice "TEAMWORK." I am lucky to have some team players on my team and to be fortunate enough to see many other advocates work along side each other for the betterment of all involved. I want to send out a special praise to not only all the Team players I know but many others that I hear about everyday. Without us, without all of you advocates, many of those we help would be lost and left to wonder. Thank You for all you do! Alone we are a voice but together we are a force to be reckoned with!

Standing Alone

 

When we are small children we tend to look for strong arms. For someone to love and direct us to a world thats safe and secure. A place where we learn and grow to be wise and content. Its a world that seems to only exist when we are little. Reality sets in that we are safe as long as we hold true to the beliefs from when we were children. Our beliefs have a way of branching us out, molding us and making us who we are meant to be. The days spent fishing with grandpa or cooking with grandma seem to disappear over the years. Perhaps our memories are a little different. For me and my cousins, it was "mud pies" on grandmas front porch and grandpas games of being "a bump on a log." Occasionally it was the smell of grandmas friend chicken, mashed potatoes and milk gravy. Still those smells bring a smile to my face. Just the thought of Grandpa and his "Juicy Fruit gum." So many warm memories and the sounds of voices that kept me encouraged day after day to attempt to fill my dreams, whatever they may have been. Now we have grandchildren of our own and I often think of and wonder what memories they will hold dear to them. What will I do or say that will keep them safe and secure in the future to come. Will it be a word, an action or maybe several different combinations. The belief has become, to find a daily positive in our lives because you never know what might make them strong in years to come. What they might take with them in their struggles. What moment might they think of that will help them to branch out and reach for what they want. Begining from a young age, character is born and encouraged.... to stand alone is inevitable but "Standing Alone" with memories backing us is amazing and thats what keeps us strong through whatever may come our way...

The Rhythm of The White Tennis Shoes

People come in all sizes and styles. There are some who are loud and in your face while others may be quite and observant. From time to time, a person can be still and see the world in a very new and different light. If you are lucky, you may see many different sides to the old and young. On one such occasion, I sat silently on a Sunday morning enjoying the Message being delivered by our Preacher. He was strong and steady with his points and his jokes were funny and made us all rumble with laughter. We had a full house and as many Church families do, we all were on are best behavior in Gods house. We had some extra guest that morning and to our delight they were all musicians. The Church was full of song and young and old alike seemed to be focused on the stage. As they moved to a special singing the uplifting spirit continued. As I looked out over row after row of people a smile came to my face as I saw how everyone was joined together clapping and singing along with the music. They were all belting out the same bluegrass Christian Song as they kept the beat with their hands and feet. As the song was about to end, a pair of white tennis shoes caught my eye. They were in the row ahead of me and were moving quite vigorously keeping the Rhythm of the music in check. As I continued to look up to see the face of the owner of those shoes I discovered a nice surprise in a smiling face. A tear fell to my check. Mr B, a long time member of our church, was at the other end. Mr B was always quiet and reserved. He never talked out of place or made any noise about anything. He had recently been ill and had been recovering from a stroke. He was known for being a faithful Christian who always attended church but rarely sang or ventured towards helping others. He never missed a day at church if the door was open. Little did we all know that our 85 year old Mr B loved Bluegrass Christian music and those white tennis shoes were connected to the boogieing feet that kept him alive.

AT What Point

Life delivers us where it wants us to be. In the lives that call our names and the hearts that bring out the best and the worst in us all. Some where in between we discover that the ones we once called our children become grown adults with children of their own. Its sometimes hard to decipher where our lives end and theirs begin.  Some cling to us and want us by their sides always. While some of our children flourish well without our guidance. Perhaps, kudos for a job well done as they were little. No matter what they say or how they grow they take a part of us with them where ever they go. Just as we retain whatever we can from them. If we are lucky we can receive a year  by year scrapbook of them and their kids as we watch our grand kids grow. There are not handbooks that can tell us step by step on how to love what we create. There is however several opinions on ways to follow up on what we begin. How do we let them grow and not interfere? How do we watch from a distance when they require such a small amount of our knowledge. At what point do we back away as parents and let them experience life for what it is...Its a learning experience that holds much more than just skinned knees. It frightening at times as a parent to let your child go and to just remember that they are adults. Teach them to weigh the pros and the cons. To ask in depth questions of life and how it works. Most of all....to treat others the way you want to be treated, with respect and keeping your morals as your guiding light behind the choices you make. If we have left our children with these guidelines then maybe its at that point when we can hope that they will allow us to play a few innings once in a while in their lives. All we can do is pray that God will keep them safe and Guide them as they fulfill his plan for their lives. Hoping along the way that they remember that no one is perfect. We made mistakes with them and they will do the same. Just always remember......pick up the pieces and start again.....someone is watching and learning all they do.....for at this point they are now the adults setting their own examples for all the little ones to observe, interrupt and play out as they grow.

The Package Wasn't For Me

As I sat there agitated and selfish I heard a voice raging inside of me. I become so consumed with my aggravation of the situation in front of me that I failed to see what was around me. In moments passing my anger started to disappear as I heard a beautiful sound next to me. As I turned to see what I was hearing I realized it was my daughter. She was singing. A beautiful voice that I hadn’t heard sing for many months. I was never for sure why she stopped but she did. Now she was singing like an angel. It turned out that the package in front of us wasn’t supposed to be for me. It was a delivery for her. Funny, how we often believe that everything in this world is wrapped around what we need or want. We often fail to see that the world is much more complicated than what lies right in front of us.

Journey To Something More

I was in college and I was a young mother, alone and on my own. My mom had passed away the year before. She was so proud of me being in school and working so hard to give my son more than what she could have financially ever given me. I struggled daily after she died but I never gave up and I know I was at a point in my life where I was trying to decide what my actual career choice was going to be. I had wished many times that my mom was there to be my sounding board but that was not the way God had planned it. I had learned early on that I had to roll with whatever God laid in front of me. There was always a purpose to his reasoning and I didn't have to understand any of his decisions. I just had to trust in him.

On this particular day everything seemed to be going wrong. Much to my frustrations and already complicated life, I found myself at the local laundry mat due to my washer had broken down. I had tons of studying to do and no time for all the confusion.

As I unloaded my laundry I noticed that there was only one other person there. She was a well dressed lady that appeared to be very nice. She came over and began speaking to me almost immediately after my arrival. We talked for what seemed to be hours. I discovered that she was from a neighboring town and her washer had broken so she had no choice but to find a laundry mat for this day. She was in her early sixties and she had spent her entire life as a Social Worker. She told me stories of her Journeys in and out of other peoples lives. Some of the people she met blessed her with adventures of a lifetime while others left her sad and empty. She explained to me all about how so many people left a footprint on her heart. That all of her encounters made her into the person that she was. She took a little piece of all of them and wrapped them together. Being a Social worker was both a blessing and a trial. That it was sometimes hard to stay true to what you believe and who you are unless you hold tightly to what God has already given you. Stay focused and help who you can and just remember that we are only human. We can not, and are not expected to save the world just because we answer a calling to be a social worker. Some of us are just born to do so. Just like we are born to be School Teachers or Librarians. Its something that fills us and makes us complete.

It was this conversation and day in time that decided my future. I knew from that day forth that I had to finish college and become the Social Worker that I had wanted to be. I was a very young and impressionable twenty-two year old. I enjoyed my conversation immensely with my new found friend. During our time together we talked so intensely and with so much driven power and purpose that I never noticed that she was by my side the whole conversation. It wasnt until after our conversation was over and I was home that I realized that I had never seen her with any laundry. As my heart lifted and a smile crossed my face I found myself remembering that among all my troubles earlier that morning I had asked God for some guidance....So... as tears rolled down my cheeks I had to ask myself, “ Was my new found friend really a Social Worker or was she something more? “

Chance Meeting

Families are far from perfect and mine was the same. We loved each other but I was a teenager and I definitely knew all about pushing my mothers buttons. The consequences were not always good for me. When we would argue I would separate myself from the problem at the time and my tomboy side would kick in. I would find my fishing pole and head down to the local Reservoir. Mom and I seemed to argue a lot in my early teenage years. It might have been because my chores weren't done or I was gone to long and didn't feel the need to tell her where I was. She was my best friend but at this age she was also my worst enemy. I had a new stepfather and he meant well but he wasnt my favorite person. So, usually any argument mom and I had it gave me a reason to run out on her.

On the one day that stands out the most to me we had been fighting and my step father had gotten in the middle of the fight again. I felt alone and angry that he even thought he had a say so in our argument.

I was determined to sneak away and make my mom learn to appreciate me a little more. So, I grabbed my fishing pole and headed out. It was hot and there were a few people already with their poles in the water. I found a place and got comfortable. My dad use to always tease me that I could barely be quite let alone set still long enough to wait on a fish. True to this statement, I was throwing my line in the water and reeling it back in. I was not catching a single fish when I heard a mans voice a little ways down from me hollering. He had caught a fish. Of course I had to say something to him because I still wasn't catching anything. I wanted to know what his trick was.

Before I knew it hours had passed and I was starting to catch fish. It was all about a fishing lure and being patient but more than that I think it was about having someone to talk to. The mystery voice was connected to a man who had all sorts of fish stories to tell. He was nice and taught me how to put the lure on my pole and set it at the right depth for me. He was amazed that I knew so much about fishing. Really I think he was amazed that I was a teenage girl that was still into fishing. As he talked I listened intently and then shared stories about me and my dad. Eventually the stories went from being about the fish to being about what brought us to the lake to fish. I told the man all about my stepfather and how I felt about his intrusion on my life. We talked about our fights, School, not seeing my dad and many other topics. The man was a gentlemen and not once inappropriate.

As the day was starting to get late I said my thank yous and bid him farewell but I never shared a phone number or an address. When I did return home I looked at my Stepfather a little different. The man himself was a Stepfather and he had shared some of his stories about how his family treats him. It finally became clear to me on that day that everyone is human and not always out to get the other person. I learned a lot that day with a fishing pole in my hand. Was it a by chance meeting or an arranged blessing from God? I guess only God knows that answer but I can say that I never saw the man again but I was and am forever grateful to him. He showed me both sides of the coin that day and changed my views forever on Stepfathers...