This is how I feel things are moving in my life at the moment. I am facing changes at work, in my children, in my finances, in my health. Basically, every aspect of my life is being touched by change. This is difficult for me in that I am for the most part, a person who does not embrace change very well. I find it stressful and seldom do I find it exciting until I begin to see the benefits and reap the rewards of change.
At work, my supervisor approached me and told me that she would like to work on a different strategy for using me with the rest of my team. My job has always been sort of an evolutionary process anyway but I am quite comfortable right now. I have things going in a steady rhythm with the only issue being that I am a little bit bored because my case load is low. So, a challenge is not unwelcome but it is uncomfortable because I am going to have to stretch myself again. Some of the ideas we came up with were for me to plan to work with each new client a minimum of once a week for a month and then meet with the senior workers to determine whether I should continue further services. In some ways it will be good to talk it over with some other people and have some accountability for my decisions but I will sort of miss that autonomy. However, I can already sense a change in myself and the case managers as I have begun to tell them that if they refer clients to me, this is what I will do initially. I think they feel more supported by me. I am not feeling like I have to make a snap decision but can take more time to get to know a client. I can also do some more education which is something both my supervisor and I agree is one of my strengths and my passions. So, overall, it's a good change.
Last summer, I hit an extremely difficult time financially and it is something I am still trying to pull myself out of. It has been much slower than I anticipated. These changes take more time in order to become permanent patterns. Last summer, I did begin to read more about financial matters and how to better manage money. However, what I really wanted back then was someone to come alongside me and coach me and help me stay on track and keep me accountable. I knew about Crown Ministries and read a lot of things on their website. I tried to get a Crown coach but was never able to connect with anyone or even get a phone call back. It was frustrating. This winter, our pastor did a series on Biblical finances and also mentioned that our church would be starting up a Crown ministry. I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. This was an answer to prayer, specifically, it was an answer to my prayers from last summer. I got my materials today and have started working on my homework. I am nervous and scared but at the same time, I need to change this area, so I am ready to go.
My health needs addressing too. Both of my parents have developed diabetes. My father is now insulin dependent and my mother is only monitoring her blood sugars and trying to make adjustments in her diet. I have been doing a lot of teaching with my clients on diabetes and I do not want to develop this myself. So far when I have had a fasting blood sugar done, I am below 100 which is good. It does not even put me in a pre-diabetic category. However, my cholesterol has been slowly creeping up and my blood pressure is all over the place. I take a blood pressure med for the purpose of controlling my migraines with the added benefit of controlling blood pressure. But my risk factors are frightening. So, I joined Weight Watchers again. This time, I go to meetings with a friend and this helps me so much, just knowing I have someone to go with and the cheer me on and that I can cheer on too. I peeked at where I started at two summer's ago when I did a WW group at work and I am still down about 10 lbs from where I started then. And I did lose 1 lb this past week with very little change except a lot of "thinking" and processing. This change is slower for me. But I have realized, I am not in a hurry. My goals for joining WW go beyond just weight. It is my overall health that I want to improve and if I can get down to what I weighed before I had children, that would be fantastic. Beyond that, I am not thinking that far yet because it is just too big. 30 lbs, improved health, lower cholesterol and increasing my activity level and setting a good example for my children, those are my initial goals.
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