Coffee, Chaos and Cuss Words

I've been busy, as usual, living and loving the work I do; guiding and people out of homelessness and back to stable lives that they can enjoy once again. There have been some changes with the staff hierarchy, and it's really challenged me personally and professionally. A coworker, who has been on the job several months less than me, was recently promoted over me. It was a hit to the ego that I wrestled with every day for many weeks. She is smart, competent and I think she'll do great at the job. However, my first thought was, 'What about me?'! I'm hard-working, dynamic, enthusiastic, intelligent, effective, reliable, consistent and somehow, all that didn't seem to pay off with the kind of advancement I had hoped for. I went deep into self-reflection, knowing they told me before that they recognized my strengths, wanted me for the long haul and could see advancement in my future. I chided myself for being bitchy, but still felt the sting of not bein...

One of the most rewarding things I have been working on in the past year is Servant Leadership. My job uses the principal behaviors of Servant Leadership for the clients we serve, the coworkers we consider our teammates but primarily ourselves. The behaviors of Servant Leadership are:  Serve First- Demonstrate Respect Build Trust-Show Loyalty Extend Trust Live Your Values- Clarify Expectations Listen to Understand -Listen First Think About Your Thinking- Practice Accountability * Keep Commitments Bring Value: Your Strengths- Talk Straight Acquire and Practice Virtue- Create Transparency * Right Wrongs Demonstrate Courage -Confront Reality * Deliver Results Live Your Transformation -Get Better We strive to 'Encourage, Equip and Inspire those with whom we have influence...' for their highest good. In serving others first, we actually serve ourselves the same way. It's a beautiful way to look at it. I have really felt changes and overall growth with ...

Not real....but I bet it will be eventually... I've missed my Sunday 'CAWFEE' Klatsch! A tradition I grew up with, is one that I still love, though it has changed now that the elders in my life have passed on. One of my favorite memories of my childhood is spending time with friends, family, and neighbors and just chatting with the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air. The Cawfee Klatsch is where I learned a lot about life, laughter and often, some new cuss words to add to my growing vocabulary! Getting up on a Sunday morning to enjoy coffee and conversation with my hubby and cats is still something I look forward to often. Not quite making up for all the missed free time during the work week. However, there is something smooth and easy about curling your fingers around a colorful mug of my favorite beverage and just enjoying time with the one I love. And now in this modern age, when so many friends are far away or simply met through cyberspace, I get to enj...

2018 has truly begun with me having a new view on the world around me... I developed cataracts in both eyes last year because of my uncontrolled diabetes and they developed in a matter of a few months. Scheduling the surgery for the first eye was a process of waiting for nearly TWO months.  I could see things close-up, but anything further than a few feet away was a blur. I was fortunate enough that my husband had some old glasses that allowed me to have a fuzzy view on the world, but let me see some distances. This, thankfully, allowed me to still work while waiting for the surgery. I changed my computer settings for nearly everything a truly visually impaired person would need. At night, every headlight became a huge starburst that prevented me from distinguishing cars coming from any direction. After one frightening and disorienting drive home, where I was racing the sunset, I knew I had to make the decision to forsake my independence on the road for a time. I told my husba...

On April 28, 2017, I was laid off from my job for the first time in my adult life. I was upset about it, but knew that I didn't have the kind of time to mess about. Living in Southern California, even as modestly as my hubby and I do, can be expensive. I was let go at noon on Friday and after I gave myself a few minutes to get weepy, I went home and started looking for jobs. 17 days later, I've got a new job. In a tiny, fearful area of my heart I don't want to 'jinx' this by talking about it. However, giving in to fear is NEVER going to be of use to me so I need to say it out loud. What am I afraid of? Well, I don't use drugs, but the neighbors downstairs and across the way smoke so much weed I can often smell it coming in my apartment before I shut the door. I was afraid that might show up in the drug test I took and disqualify me for the job. My hubby says that isn't likely to happen, but fear kills hope and I have been struggling with that since I...

Well, now....I've been out for a bit. There's been a load of changes going on-some good, some not so good. Grab a cuppa and let's get caught up, shall we? When last we met, (besides the post about the 'Fearless Girl' statue) I was getting ready to move on to a new job that I was so very excited about! I was making a quiet exit from a job that I didn't feel was the right fit for me. The new job made me feel valued in ways the one I was leaving had not. I felt my age and experience were considered an asset, not punchline. I started the new job and began my intensive 6 week training program with gusto! I had such good vibes from the interview, my classes were going well(I aced the tests!) and the work I'd begun with clients that I had not a clue what was to follow. For the first time EVER in my life-I got laid off... One week before the finals for my training,and just a day or two shy of 90 days with the company, I was called into the boss's office (yo...