Sad Face

The dreaded day is here. DC is moving out. The tough part about it is that Cherie is in town visiting me right now, so I'm quite a mixture of emotions. So happy that a dear friend is in town for another day and a half, but terribly sad that one of my closest friends is leaving. DC will still be in Dallas until the end of January, but it definitely won't be the same.

I'm sad.

An Update

I have officially been an employed therapist for two full weeks now. It's been quite a ride so far! I've definitely been forced out of my comfort zone, as I'm now working with little kids, as well as the adolescents. On a random side note, my supervisor is the Trauma program director. She had me sit in with her on a session with a woman who had Dissociative Identity Disorder f/k/a Multiple Personality. I saw two of her personalities come out during the session! Weirdest thing I've ever witnessed in my life! I literally couldn't close my mouth for 35 minutes.

Anyway, I'm absolutely loving being a working woman! It's exhausting, but it's meaningful. When I get home at night, I'm completely spent, but it's an accomplished exhaustion, so it's actually a wonderful feeling. It's nice to be contributing to society. I enjoyed hanging out with the guys at the chiro clinic, but this is definitely what I need to be doing, and I thank God for helping me put it all together...

Grace

On Wednesday night, as I lay in bed, I prayed that God would allow some sort of change in my life to take place (whatever that is). Thursday afternoon, I checked the Texas Dept of Health website, and I found out that I'm now officially licensed! When I got home last night, I checked the mail, and sure enough, the actual license was there as well.

I've never recognized anything spiritual like that happening to me before. I've prayed for things plenty of times, but I've never had such an obvious answer and so quickly. It was a very surreal feeling that came over me when I realized that God answered my prayer. I shared this with my Mom, and she informed me that this is what's called grace. The recognition and acknowledgment that God is with me and does answer my prayers.

In all the struggling I've done this summer with my spirituality, it's an amazing affirmation that God hasn't forgotten about me. So I sit here at the chiro clinic on my last day, because I start at Timberlawn on Monday. There are mixed feelings of course. Sad to leave the laid back job. Excited to start my career. Nervous to start my career. Loved by God...

Faith

No doubt about it, it's been a rough summer. Fall arrives in 4 days, and I couldn't be happier. The weather has been quite lovely, and I can't help but to be in a good mood. I find it hard to deny the existence of God when it's 80 degrees out, breezy, low humidity and not a cloud in the sky. I've been angry with God for the past few months. It's a hard thing to admit, but it's definitely the truth. I've been tested quite a bit, in various ways. I think it's easy to blame God because when things don't go your way, who else are you going to blame?

I've realized in the last couple of weeks that I'm getting nowhere with my resentment. Granted, at times I feel as though I'm getting nowhere when I'm truly faithful and talking to Him everyday, but I can't do things on my own anymore.

I started talking to God a little bit last week. It felt weird and forced, but I knew it was necessary. In therapy yesterday, my therapist and I sat there and read scripture together. These were passages that are very relevant to my life and what's going on right now. It's almost as if He wrote them for me. People have been telling me for sometime now that God has big plans for me, and I just need to be patient. As I've stated in previous posts, patience and I do not get along. What I've come to understand is that God is testing me and putting forth this rough patch because He does have something in the works for me. It's hard not to lose faith when times get rough, but sometimes during the rough times, faith is all you have. I truly understand now that God really is with me all the time. Now, I just have to remember that...

I've also realized that I have the most peace right now when I'm swimming. God blessed me with the ability to be a good swimmer a long time ago, and now He's brought it back into my life.

Friendships

A very wise woman a/k/a Mom, had some deep thoughts about friendships, and she recently shared them with me. When you're a child, it's sometimes easier to have friends. You're surrounded by kids your own age all day at school. In most cases, there are neighborhood kids to play with too. If you're lucky like me, when you reach high school you're either still friends with the ones from childhood, or you have a whole new group. But then what happens when you go away to college?

Out of my core group of high school friends, only two of us went to the same college. Some stayed in Louisiana, some went to the east coast, several went out to Texas, and one even managed to attend the ever prestigious Naval Academy. I've been truly lucky, in that I've had some of the same very best friends since the age of 4. We had some rough patches, but somehow came out of them wiser and better friends. I also managed to gain a few life-long friends from LSU as well.

But now as a young adult, we're scattered all over the country again. What happened to the idea of the TV show "Friends"? I mean, aren't friends in their 20's all supposed to live in the same city? I'm thinking this is another lie, much like on "24" how no one eats or uses the bathroom in 24 hours. Upon closer examination of my group of besties, here's where we live:

Dallas, Austin, San Diego, Abilene (TX), Battle Creek (MI), New Orleans, Miami, Philadelphia, Covington (LA)

The older I get, I'm appreciating more and more the value of friendships, especially with people who have known me through all stages of my life. The fact that we could remain friends after awkward junior high, bitchy high school, physical distance in college, careers/grad school, breakups and marriages is pretty amazing. It sucks that we all can't be in the same city, but this is why God made airplanes, email and phones. I've always thought that things work better because of proxemity, but maybe I've been wrong. Yes, I wish I had more friends and more to do in Dallas, but I've got some pretty amazing people in my life, and most of them live hundreds of miles away.

So, to:

Malain- I definitely want to try and make it to SD before the year is up. I've been told to eat lots of carne asada while I'm out there. Also, I think a trip to Miami to see Tanya would be awesome!

Caroline- Thanks for a fun weekend in Abilene. Never a whole lot to do, but cookies and ice cream make it all worth it!

Melster- We're already trying to plan my next trip down there. Hope it works out soon.

Jessica and Brittany- Next time I'm in NOLA, I say we get together for some fantastic seafood (Felix's? R&O's?) and perhaps some Pat O's.

Megan- Next time I'm at my parents, let's do Caffe Caffe. There's no one else I'd rather dine there with than you.

Kara- I think it's high time I made it up to Battle Creek. I'm thinking I'll need to wait until the artic tundra melts, so maybe sometime in the spring.

Raquel- I think I'll need to wait until things thaw in Philly too, but I'm definitely up for an american history tour from a Canadian!

Cherie- Get your butt to Dallas! We have serious shopping to do!

Fivel, Deanna and Allison- Anyone up for sushi and wine?

Now, can some of you please move to New York, Chicago, London or Paris?

Welcome to Responsibility

I've been living in limbo for a few months now. With the passing of my NCE, I've moved a little bit closer to something more solid. Today's events have brought forth a lot more certainty to my life, and I'm so excited!

I met with the head of social services at Timberlawn, which for those of you who know, is where I did my grad school internship. He had me fill out an application (just a formality), and then we went over details of my future job. I'll be working with the teenagers again. I have a great schedule of 11a-7p. I can avoid traffic both ways, workout in the morning (not at a ridiculous hour), and have time to go to any potential doctor/dentist appts, or just sleep in.

It's a really great feeling to know that probably within a month, I'll be doing what I've wanted to do for 14 years, and I'll be entering the workforce as a professional.

Things are definitely on the upswing for me right now!

Holy Cow!

I passed my National Counselor's Exam!!!