New Job

I recently started a new job in a rehab center/nursing home facility. I love my job. Obviously there are days that I feel like will never end and there are people I would just as soon not work with some days (for example the naked 300+ pound man I walked in on the other day. Not great), but all in all, work is wonderful.

There is something magic about watching people get stronger, watching their face when the turn and see how far they walked for the first time in weeks or longer. I love the feeling of watching someone stand up when they thought they couldn't, or the look of surprise when they were able to safely transition from their chair to their bed without a mechanical lift. Empowerment is a majestic virtue.

I also find that I enjoy the feeling that, to my surprise, more often than not I do know what I'm doing. Although I still feel like some days I have to make it up as I go along, for the most part I feel capable and in control. I have had lots of training, and if I stay smart and don't hurt myself I can enjoy this profession for many years to come.

Best of all though, I love working with the elderly population. For them, words like "hard work", "honor", and "independence" mean something that perhaps my own generation has not yet grasped. To listen to their experiences and to learn from their examples is a valuable training by itself, but to watch them work through constant pain and aches that I cannot even begin to conceptualize or understand is inspiring. I can be a better person. I can work harder, run longer, figure out more of my own problems, and appreciate better the good things in my life because the people I am suppose to be helping are teaching me to do so. What an amazing profession!