Hey, y’all, I finally got a counseling job! It’s in Coos Bay, so I do have to move from Eugene, but it pays really well. I’ll be an individual and family therapist, working in a day treatment program located in a middle school. It is a real counseling job, with supervision towards licensure, and an office, and benefits. The kids are 10-12 years old, and my max caseload will be NINE. Nine!
I’ve spent the last three days at training in Grants Pass, where the agency put me in a nice hotel by the river, and gave me a generous per diem. When I arrived at training, the facilitator handed me a check immediately. Wow! I thought. This middle-class thing is excellent. I haven’t even done any work yet. Then a little bit later she passed out iPhones! I’ve had an obamaphone for years, you can’t even use maps. I love this iPhone.
You may recall that it has been a long time since I’ve had a masters-level counseling job, about ten years. So I am very excited about this major change in my life, but I also have a lot of apprehension. I have worked part-time for years. Will I remember how to be a professional? Can I show up early in the morning and stay there all day? Do I still have skills? I have an overwhelming feeling of being an impostor. It’s getting better, but I’m very nervous about starting in the classroom Monday morning. There’s a voice in my head (my mother’s, as it happens) telling me very not-nice things about my chances for success, and it’s not always easy to tune her out.
It’s a bit hard, all this driving around the state, but luckily I have a new, less-old car! When last we spoke, I was having car problems. The overwhelming advice I received was to ditch it for a slightly better car. My mechanic was very helpful in selling the old one and getting the new one, so it actually only cost $400. I should have done that a long time ago! It’s a 1997 Dodge Neon with crank windows and no cruise control. I love it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, and it even has cupholders. Thank you so much to everyone who pitched in.
And really, y’all, this is a victory for the community. Kossacks have been the wind beneath my wings and the fuel in my tank for five years now. I gave up lots of times, but you never did. You were always there, any time of the day or night, to help me with any kind of problem I was having, in ways material, emotional, and spiritual. I don’t have that from my family, so to find it here has saved me in so many ways. You supported me and accepted me and protected me and defended me, and I am so grateful. I just don’t have enough words. Now I can pay it forward. Now I can help others, instead of always being the one who needs help.
So give yourselves a round of applause, folks, and know you all have my eternal gratitude. Thank you for never giving up on me, ever. This is what community looks like!