New Year's Eve at Work

You never know what you're going to get at Eucalyptus House for the holidays. It could be a houseful of the morose or the extremely hyper. I've spent quite a few holidays over the four years I've worked here. ...... Wait, four years???

Today has been full of energy, especially at dinner time when I broke out the sparkling cider (we have folks in recovery from substances so alcohol or any other kind of substance is not allowed). Although most people go to bed after taking their medications, there are a couple of stalwart residents who want to give it a go to midnight. So I reserved three bottles of the cider for that occasion.

There's 80's music on the radio and you can never go wrong with the 80's. I can hear some folks singing and dancing around in the community room, having fun. Good energy this year. I hope it holds throughout the night because often times 9pm hits and people seem to get depressed, irritated, angry and withdrawn.

I encourage people to write goals for the upcoming year and try to reflect on the past year and what they might want to keep the same or let go of or bring into their lives in the new year to come. Some get into it, some go to bed, it all depends.

The paperwork is immense today, three URs (Utilization Reviews, basically documenting why they should "stay" at the program longer), three monthlies (a monthly summary of progress) and two weeklies (a weekly summary of progress) and of course, the never ending daily notes which have been changed to almost resemble weeklies for twelve residents. So I basically sit at the computer all day when I'd rather be out of the office sitting with the residents doing what I'm supposed to be doing, milieu social rehab. Sigh.

And hopefully, I'll get to sit down and write up my goals for the new year at some point.............