109 special

I skipped Book Club today - partly because I was stuck at school in rehearsal a bit late, but mostly because I don't like talking to people.  Funny how happy I was when I was invited to join, and how tedious I actually find it to participate.  I even read the book this time too.  It's very strange to me that most of my careers, and most of my strengths, revolve around people stuff when most of me doesn't really want much to do with them.  But maybe it's just that I spend so much time with people at work that I can't tolerate them outside of work time.  Yeah, that's exactly what it is.  When I was working at home doing the writing, I wanted people in my life then.  Now that I spend a full work week in face to face interaction with people I get tired and need more privacy to balance it out.

*

There are two sisters at school who have been confiding in me about family problems they've been having at home.  In the end we had to involve a school counsellor in the discussion because I do not have the necessary training to help in a case where there is true abuse involved, and in this case there was.  It is a legal responsibility to involve social workers and we have done that.  Since then the girls have been in my office every day telling me about what's happening, step by step.  It's been a real education for me in learning about how Social Services addresses these kinds of concerns.  It's a frustrating thing not to be able to help in the ways I instinctively want to, like inviting them to live at my house or helping them to run away.  But that's why I asked for help from the counsellor.  Although she doesn't know these girls and have the relationship with them that I do, she does know the right steps to take.  So between us I truly hope we have done the right things to improve their lives.

*