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10 pounds down 32 pounds to go!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

"Butterfly in shining armor"

I do not want to look back on my life and think my only accomplishment was making old people cry, but seriously, today sucked. My client is ridiculously frustrated with her life and most of the time I can muster at least some pity for how badly she feels about her situation but the times that slip in between most of the time and all of the time I am consumed by how little she thinks of her blessings. I am not usually a person who talks about blessings, I don't really think of myself as a spiritual person so maybe the word I should be using is gifts. She has had a gifted life. She overcame hardships, she lived through some difficult things but isn't that the point of living? She sees absolutely no point in living as long as she can't do everything she wants to do all the time. One thing she says frequently which really makes my blood boil, although not today, is about all the wounded soldiers coming home from the war...wouldn't it be better if they were killed. Well, uhm, no. Some people are grateful to have more time with their families, with their children...you know maybe.

A long time ago my client was on this Wuthering Heights kick so one day I played the Kate Bush song on the way to the grocery store. I played 15 whole seconds before she started singing in a mocking voice. She did a very similar thing today except she was mocking me directly and not just something I thought she might find even the slightest bit interesting to her. I don't usually take the time to explain to her that the things she does are inappropriate. It's largely pointless and I'm not her mother anyway, all I can hope for most of the time is that people know what she's like and aren't actively blaming me. I'm used to her baiting me into fruitless arguments but she pushed me beyond that today and I called her on it. And then I had to leave.

I'm supposed to go back tomorrow and it's another one of those days when I don't know if she'll open the door for me or try to throw a glass at me or if it will be perfectly fine because she was so drunk she won't remember. Wish me luck!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, I for one LOVE that song. Love Kate Bush too, but that album, The Kick Inside is the best, best, best. Will have to dig that out very soon now that you mentioned it.

And wow. Sounds like you have a tough job. Hats off to you for chosing to work with the elderly.

Amy said...

If I didn't have a blog I'd go crazy, and I love Kate Bush too! My sister used to play it in her room and I'd sit with my ear to the wall when I was supposed to be sleeping. I can still play the whole thing on repeat and not get bored.

pinky pinkerson said...

The biggest abomination in the world is the Pat Benatar cover of that song. Seriously.

The Fat Foreigner said...

Maybe I'm a little stupid, but I don't get why she mocked the song? What was her problem with it?

Amy said...

Life was better when I didn't know pat benatar covered that song. whoa.

She said "don't you just hate screeching women"...well no, since I played the song from my personal collection clearly I LIKE her.

If I go to work today maybe I'll my iphone playing just to piss her off. I do a lot to accommodate her, which is essentially my job, but she has no way of recognizing that if I don't point out the alternative.