( continues...) to my regular schedule. But the long absence has done a number on the relationships, the trust, with some of the people at the house they pulled me from. One of the women can speak, but is uncomfortable doing so with people she does not know well. It took me two years for her to trust me enough to regularly answer questions that I ask her. (She started making hilariously snarky replies to some of my silly questions about one year.) The first day I was back there, she wouldn't talk to me or look at me. And another person has been testing boundaries with me just like I was brand new.
I am so angry about this I could cry.
One of my most valuable abilities in this work is the relationship I build with these people. The mutual trust and respect and care are my stock in trade.
But then again, at least with specific examples of how such major changes to my schedule disrupt these relationships, this trust - I can fend off any future ... I'm going to say attacks. It is not how the powers that be meant it, but that is how it feels from my perspective.
Thanks for listening.
Windsparrow, I say document the hell out of all these instances of breakdown in that trust relationship. If your higher-ups don't understand how important it is, they shouldn't have their jobs.
I have done the work you do, and I could not stay with it. After two years I was completely and permanently burned out. FWIW, I have huge admiration for you, for doing that job so well and for so long.
Thanks, Zenkitty. And you are right about documenting.
Want to hear something weird? (To be filed under "Steph Doesn't Know Shit About Anatomy".)
When several people were doing the 30-day squats challenge, where the number of squats they do increases each day, I thought, holy crap, I could never do 250 squats. That's madness.
I haven't done 250 squats. This isn't that kind of dramatic reveal.
The more people posted about it on FB, the more I thought, well, I'm not in fantastic physical shape, but...I bet I could do 25 squats. (Which my quads screamed about the next day. Like I said, not in fantastic physical shape.)
But I've been gradually adding more squats, and I'm up to 50. And here's the weird thing: my hips don't hurt so much any more. They still get a little annoyed if I try to sleep too long, but -- they pretty much don't hurt. I guess because stronger quad muscles balance the load properly and don't shift too much work to the hips? (Like I said, I don't know shit about anatomy, so that might not be right. I just know my hips don't hurt any more.)
I'm never going to do 250 squats, though.
I guess because stronger quad muscles balance the load properly and don't shift too much work to the hips?
It sure helps. As a catcher, Emmett needs to work on his thigh muscles to help support his knees and hips since he's in a squat all the time.
I'm never going to do 250 squats, though.
Let's get you to 100 and see.
I'm never going to do 250 squats, though.
Let's get you to 100 and see.
I strongly suspect I'm never going to do 100. But stranger things have happened.
I've been thinking about the squat challenge again, and I was thinking about trying again with a pathetically small number, like 5, because starting wherever the challenge started was not a good idea for me.
Huh. My hip hurts too. Steph's post prompted me to go look at the Facebook page, and thence to the video of how to do squats, and...huh. That's not what I thought a squat was. This? I can do this.
So I did! I did 20 skwaats, and ow, so I went and emptied the dishwasher, then I went back and did 10 more.
I did 30 squats, y'all! This is major.
I was thinking about trying again with a pathetically small number, like 5
For real, my quads hurt so much after Day 1 of 25 squats, that I really wished I had started with 10. But it is kind of amazing how quickly you build strength and can add more.
Huh. My hip hurts too.
It took about 3 weeks before I noticed that my hips hurt WAY less. For the record. (Just in case you don't notice any improvement in hip pain right away and decide it's crazy bullshit.)