Tidings of Joy

I found a minute today to call Jane's work phone and left a message saying how concerned I was that I had not heard from her and Fiona.  She left me a voice mail during the event I was working at tonight.  Jane is vacationing in Oregon.  Fiona is fine; she has had one more hospitalization but very short term and we will hopefully hear from them both on next Tuesday evening.  I am so relieved.

The work event went really well.  I was excited to see the residents where I work participate so fully and joyfully.  It was very magical to me. People whose life is marked with trauma, addictions, lack of education and more often feel they can't do things.  Today, for this moment, they not only saw that they could, they positively rocked it out!  The bigwigs were all suitably impressed.  I tried to visit each table people and chat a couple of minutes.  I don't want residents to think that all the management people sit at one table and look down on them or judge them.  And I don't want one set of residents saying that I like another resident more than someone else. So that is why I kept circulating.  A bunch of residents wanted their pictures taken with me which totally cracked me up.  I mean, I am the person who writes the letters when people are not towing the line. I am the same person who had to lecture two of the residents this morning before the event on how they would behave at this and how we would not have drama. At all.    But I also am the person they have known for 30 years.  There was a cool spanish band playing music and we all sang La Bamba, and De Colores and a few other songs that even though I am a gringa, I know all the spanish words to. 

My wife and kids came to pick me up at the end of the day (or maybe I should say end of the night as it was after 7).  My car had a flat when I had gone out to go to work this a.m. and thus K had to drive me in today.  Looking over at their faces smiling at me and having Lissa jump into my arms was the perfect end to  the day.