I'm so happy to have the weekend here at last.  This week felt incredibly long despite being only four days long. 

 

Everyone wants a piece of you in this job.  I had 27 messages waiting for me on Tuesday when I arrived at work.  And everybody is wondering where I am and why haven't I phoned.  I barely had a chance to sit at my desk this week.  I was out running the roads, catching up on long overdue home visits.  I wish my families could understand that I am trying my best, but there is only one of me, and a multitude of them! 

 

I was able to spend some time with Lita this week.  She had me and a group of ladies over to her place on Wednesday night for a potluck and a few drinks.  Quite an assorted crowd, and the only thing each of us had in common was the hostess herself.  Great fun!  And plenty of laughs as we all relaxed in one another's company.  Some of the women present: a film director, a radio personality and newspaper columnist, an English student, an N.G.O. worker (she was leaving for Bolivia the next day), and a G.A.P. retail clerk.  Imagine the dialogue!  And Lita was such an excellent hostess, and knew that we would all get along splendidly. 

 

Thursday night saw me and a few colleagues out for beer and wings at the Peel Pub and then aross the street at the Oasis for karioke.  Geoff, Karen and I sang Tom Cochrane's greatest (and only) hit, "Life is a Highway."  And the whole room was clapping and singing along.  And Estelle and Stacey created a dance floor by the stage.  It turned out to be a late evening, but I was still able to get up the next day and put in a full day's work, unlike everyone else who had the day off. 

 

My friend Kupa arrives in town briefly this week, and I am looking forward to seeing her.  It's been so long since our paths last crossed. 

 

I cannot believe that the fall is approaching so steadily!  The days are starting to feel shorter and there's a chill in the air after sunset.  I do enjoy the fall, and this year especially as I will be making my way to Winnipeg at the end of October.  Another vacation, and this time I won't be in the city to be pulled into work when things go sour on my caseload. 

Today is my flex day, and I am enjoying the freedom that comes with it.  I got up this morning and went for a run before cuddling up on my couch with a good book.  The sun is shining and I think I'll make my way shortly to the Public Gardens and stretch out on a bench.  Hopefully it won't be too busy that I can't find a quiet spot.

 

I cannot believe that the summer is nearly over!  An access worker phoned me up at the office the other day to discuss the fall access schedule and I laughed initially because I thought she was just being eager, but the joke is on me because school starts up in just a couple of weeks and I have a lot to do before then!

 

My niece turned 8 years old yesterday.  I can't believe how tall she is!  My sister threw her a party, and unfortunately I was not able to make it, but she knows how much I adore her. 

 

 

Well you'd think I had been gone a month the way my families have been carrying on since my return to the office after a far too brief vacation.  The first thing I learn is that one of my files that I was able to close earlier in the year is set to re-open and it's coming back my way because it is just shy of the six month mark.  Aarrgh!  Then I have this other mom who is convinced her children are being abused in their foster home (and believe me, they aren't), and has threatened to take her story to the CBC to expose me as the crap social worker that I am.  (Roll eyes.)  My wee little baby who I apprehended just a couple of weeks ago in the hospital is still there and the drug tests came back positive for cocaine and so she's on morphine to help with her withdrawal, and we're waiting on the HIV/AIDS tests to come back, so I'm on pins and needles!  I have a "father of the year" who came back to Halifax last week from British Columbia who insists that he be able to spend time with his daughter whenever he feels like it (despite her asking her therapist to ask me to tell her dad to stop making her feel so bad . . . which I most certainly did!).  And then there's my sweet little autistic boy who is showing early signs of schizophrenia and has written all over his wall that God is telling him to die and go to heaven.  Phew!  And that was only yesterday!  Today I don't think I stopped once to take in air!  I ate my lunch just now actually.  Very tasty.  Suffice it to say, I am exhausted!  Thank god the weekend is fast approaching.  Oh, and did I mention a brand new file landed on my desk this morning, before I headed off to Truro, then to the Department of Justice to sign an affidavit, and then to Spryfield to investigate allegations of physical abuse?  I need a vacation!  lol 

Lisa and Chris left today after a fabulous vacation spent together in Halifax.  Lawrencetown Beach, Peggy's Cove, The Lower Deck, The Dome, Point Pleasant Park, Bouctouche . . . we packed in a lot over the past 9 days.  I will post pictures soon!  Thanks for coming down Lisa and Chris - Becca and I miss you already!