Made My Day

5:45am alarm goes off, shower, get dressed

6:30am arrive at J's house to fix her breakfast and help her get ready for work

8:15am J's bus arrives and she is off to work

8:30am arrive at the office where I unload the decorations and left over beverages from Sunday night's holiday party

9:00am Drive to Jamba Juice for a strawberry surf-rider. The cashier gives me three coupons for free smoothies to share with my co-workers. The coupons are good for today only. On the way to my next stop I am receiving a myriad of phone calls and text messages from co-workers with questions about timecards and needs for schedule changes. Call home to check-in.

10:00-Noon Facilitate a person centered planning meeting for G. We draw up action plans for employment and community living.

Noon-12:30 Drive to A's house and on the way call my mother to check on my dad who was in surgery. Call home and return all of my other calls.

12:30pm Arrive at A's house to reconcile his cashbox and check-in with his support staff about his needs. Decide to drive A and his staff to K-Mart to buy a new comforter for his bed and some warm winter gloves. The sales are so good we end up also buying him a warm winter hat and a fleece throw. He often sits on his couch and puts a warm blanket over his head, so we thought he would love a new one. He chooses red. He loves shopping so much he smiles the entire time.

1:30pm Drive to Jamba Juice where A and his support staff get their free smoothie. A was expecting lunch and isn't too sure about the smoothie, so we have him take it back home to see if he might like to drink it later.

2:15pm Drop A and his staff back to his A's apartment where I record his purchases and return his change to his cashbox. We take a look at his new bedding and unwrap his new throw while he sips his smoothie. I end up taking his old comforter with me to wash at home as A's washing machine isn't large enough to handle it.

2:30pm On the way back to the office I stop to pick up take-out Chinese food. I'm so hungry I search to see if they included a fortune cookie in my bag. They did! Munch on that while I drive.

2:35pm At a stoplight I read my fortune:

The job is well done.

I pause and reflect on how much that means to me. A simple piece of paper with five words and two smiley faces on it.

2:45pm Arrive at the office for another couple of hours of answering emails and tying up loose ends before heading home.