Professional Badass...?

Now that I am officially five months into my new career I am at a point where I feel like I know semi what I am doing. I’ve learned sooo much about my field as well as working in a professional environment in general. In my previous job of serving I had become somewhat a professional. I knew how to read guests, multitask and get things done to maximize my income as well as make people LOVE me. Not to brag, but I’m a pretty badass server (TOOOT TOOOT). I still serve on the side because I just can’t leave it; it’s quick easy money, and I’m good at it. Unfortunately I’m not at the level of professional Badass as a behavioral therapist.

Before I get down on things let me say, I Love my position working with children who have autism! It’s super rewarding, but I still have a long way to go. It has only been five months, no one is gonna rock it out that quickly. I still doubt myself and tend to try to work above my pay grade. It is obvious to myself that I genuinely care about the kiddos I work with, and I’m not just there to go through the motions and get a paycheck.

One thing that has made me more confident over time is the relationship I have built with my clients. Now due to HIPPA I can’t say too much about them, but all that matters is that they are amazing. I love watching my kids succeed and do well.  I love to hear them laugh, and I love that they show they love me too. One of my youngest little nuggets always greets me with a big kiss on my face (more like a face lick) but it warms my heart to know he loves me. Two of my clients are non-verbal, and their hugs and squeezes are the BIGGEST rewards I could have for doing my job.

I must share that one of my clients, who is verbal, was at home one day and got put in time out for hitting his sister, when he was sitting in the corner he told his parents “I want Erica!” How stinking precious, he thinks of me when he needs someone to comfort him. Although he isn’t always my biggest fan when I tell him “no,” he still has a place in his heart that thinks of me when I’m not around. That makes me feel very special.

One thing that is the most stressful, and something I mentioned in a previous post, are the dreams that come along with what I do. Often I will have dreams that my clients are in a massive behavior, throwing tantrums or having potty accidents. Sometimes the dreams are good, I’ve often had dreams where my non-verbal clients are talking and saying all sorts of hysterical things. Not all the dreams are bad, but I definitely take my work home with me.

My job definitely isn’t easy, and those who ask “so are you like a baby sitter?” know that you HAVE no idea what this job entails. A lot of people, even me at one point, assume this job is just glorified babysitting, (Spoiler ALERT) it is one of the roughest jobs I have ever done. Although it can be stressful I wouldn’t trade it at this point in my life.

Wedding Traditions

As I prepare for my wedding in May I am surrounded by various conflict as I make decisions for my big day.  I receive so much advice, wanted and unwanted, when it comes to planning my big day. One thing I am conflicted with is traditions and wedding etiquette. This day and age we are able to have wedding websites, and register for gifts without leaving the house, things that are far from anything that has been done long ago. Weddings have come a long way, but traditions typically stay the same… Something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new. Small things that seem silly, but brides continue to follow what their mothers and grandmothers have done in the past.

This post has nothing to do with my wedding, or how I plan to follow tradition, but rather it is about another bride who did something differently, and although I was not present for her big day, she filled my heart with joy and my eyes with tears.

She took a different rout than what has typically been done, and it couldn’t have been more brilliant.

After the couple shared their first dance as husband and wife they asked all couples who were married to join them on the dance floor. As the song got going they asked all couples who have been married for one year or less to kindly take their seat. They continued to ask those to leave the dance floor until there was only one couple left, that couple had been married for 55 years. The bride then gave her bouquet to couple. In my opinion it was an exchange between the newest marriage and the most seasoned marriage.

The couple left standing on the dance floor was my Grandparents.  After 55 years, three daughters, and five grandkids, they have stuck by one another and still love each other as much as they did in 1960; decades before wedding websites, and online registries. I feel that the true tradition to be recognized is that of love. This bride went outside the box. Instead of tossing a bouquet in hopes to start a new marriage, she shared the flowers with a couple who has already proved they can handle a marriage for over half a century.