Visitors!

I love it that the weather is warm enough to start having some visitors. Last weekend, Mom and Dad came. They came last Thursday night and when I was working on Friday they went to Ouray. Saturday we drove to Telluride and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch at Town Park and meandering around downtown. We ate two excellent meals out and one great meal at home.

Robert came this past Friday for Memorial Weekend. We ate at Ted Nelson’s Steakhouse, one of the best restaurants in town! Yesterday we did all sorts of stuff. We went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and enjoyed the views. We took CHes and Stan on a small adventure at a local partk. We went to some stores in Montrose and to the Horsefly Brewing Company. We topped the day off with a great dinner at Amelia’s Hacienda. He and I were both pretty tired last night and the boys and I slept until almost 7 which pretty much never happens...

Here are some pictures from our morning at the Black Canyon. I also can't help putting in an updated photo of C&S!

A Fine and Delicate Balance

The past two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. It all started right after I had gotten back from my vacation. I was already feeling overwhelmed before my vacation as our patient census has been growing for months. My caseload was growing steadily and before I left on vacation it hovered around 43 patients, which, in my mind, is not only overwhelming to me but also unfair to the individual patient who gets 1/43 of my attention.  When I got back I learned the other social worker’s mom had passed on and I had to take care of all social work needs for 86 patients and their families while she went out of town. I remember calling mom one night and breaking down into tears, saying what a mistake I had made taking this job and that I was so stressed and overwhelmed all the time. It was the first time I had really voiced this and getting this weight off my shoulders would prove to be life changing.

That week, I created pro and con lists for staying at/leaving the job. My lists for leaving grew steadily longer than staying. I realized that I have the power to create my own reality. Since I took this job, my life has revolved a lot around the job and not so much around actually enjoying life. I have no children to have to send to college, or unmanageable debts at this time…and I realized there was no reason to stay in a stressful job. So, last Tuesday I gave my notice during my supervising session with my mentor/other office social worker.

Maybe it was because I brought light on the “elephant in the room” (the fact that our census was growing but our social work team was not), or because they actually like me as an employee and didn’t want to lose me, that all hell broke loose. The new director cornered me in my office for 45 minutes asking me to give her a chance to make changes to make things better. My Grand Junction supervisor called to invite me to dinner that night. I went and voiced my concerns. She offered me incentives to stay, none of which actually would cure what seemed to be irrecoverable burnout. The next day, the new director said in a staff meeting that they are looking to hire a part-time and full-time social worker because “Melanie is trying to figure out what to do with her life.” Irritated as I was that she made me sound like an 18 year old, it opened the conversation to all the staff about how important self-care is in a job like this and that everyone needs to take measures to not allow burnout to get the best of them. It was an important conversation as well because the director acknowledged the growing census has put a huge strain on the staff resources of the office and that this was going to change. I was so happy to be a part of change in our office to make the work more equitable.

My Grand Junction supervisor offered me the part-time social work position. I realized this was exactly what I was hoping for; after all, I love the actual work I do with patients and families. I accepted it quickly, knowing this would be the answer to my self-care needs in this line of work. Not only will I be able to be a part of the hospice movement, which I treasure, I can really enjoy my life and do things that are meaningful to me without letting work become the priority.

My supervisor offered that I take this week off to “heal my spirit” and I obliged. I spent a nice long weekend in Denver for Easter, seeing friends I haven’t seen since Thanksgiving and being with the family. Tuesday I did some around the house things; yesterday I drove to Telluride; today I have a massage scheduled; and tomorrow I plan to go to the Orvis Hot Springs. Each morning I have taken Chester for a long walk to try to get a little healthier and plan to continue morning walks through the summer while it is lighter earlier. Although I am full-time until the end of May, I know there is an end in sight toward a better work/life balance. This week off is giving me a taste of just how pampering this new schedule will be to my body, soul, and spirit.

Speaking of Telluride, I went yesterday because I had never been and some friends plan to visit this summer and want to go there. I figured now that I have some time I should check it out…and I am glad I did! The drive to Telluride is stunning, and it is only April! I look forward to seeing the landscape when everything is in bloom, especially the Aspen trees. It is a super cute town, and has that artsy-hippie-yuppie feel to it. While a little crowded for my taste, even on the off-season, I think it will be a fun destination with my visitors. I was pleased to see that in Telluride Chester finally found his calling and decided to pursue his passion for food!

Speaking of Chester and Stanley, I thought I would post two updated photos of the handsome boys. Ahem...senior citizens, I mean, as they both turned 12 recently!

First 5K of the season

Something I didn't fully realize was how much I like to do 5K organized races. I don't run them like I used to, but I enjoy being around a group of people with momentum to get out and exercise. I did my first 5K of the season yesterday with some gals from work. It was put on the by Delta Rec Center and went around the lake at the park in Delta. Since mid-March there have been 12 of us keeping track of our miles run/walked every day and I am going to tally the miles to see what we have done as a group. My work people don't always do things together because we all have pretty strong boundaries with regards to our personal time. However, doing something like this that was healthy with minimal commitment was a really fun thing to do! 

Last night I finally got out to the Women Who Wine get together and had an absolute blast! It was held at the salon where I get my hair done. Women of Montrose get together and drink wine, eat food, and get to know each other/see each other if they don't do so regularly. It is also a really great way to do some professional connecting. Most women introduce where they work or what they are really interested in and that allows us all to know about what is going on in town. One woman is on the committee for an upcoming fashion show fundraiser, another belongs to an archaeology society who promotes preservation in the area, etc. etc. There is a woman who I see from time to time, an artist named Gina Grundemann, and she is on the Montrose Botanic Gardens volunteer committee. I just joined the gardens and she asked me if I would like to help volunteer for the garden tour and other events. I told her I would! So, it is a really great way to get to know people in the area and find out about what is going on in the Montrose community.

Here are some examples of Gina's work...

It is a cold and rainy day here today as I think it is across the state. I am hoping to come to Denver for Easter, so let's hope this is the worst weather we get for the next week!

Vacation...coming to an end...

Today was the last day of vacation with the family in Scottsdale. We had a really great day! We played putt-putt golf, and Mom and I won by a tie! We had a nice lunch together and then went to the Musical Instrument Museum up north. I thought I had been there before but I was getting it confused with the EMP Museum in Seattle. This museum is huge! It showcases musical instruments from pretty much every country. It was so cool.

After the museum we all retreated for the "hotel hour" of some R&R. We had a delicious dinner at The Italian Grotto in downtown Scottsdale. We also went to an arts festival along the waterfront. Needless to say I am beat! I have to pack and get to bed soon.

Tomorrow I drive to Kayenta. I am going to stop in Sedona-I was going to on my way here but decided to wait until going back to Kayenta. Sunday I will drive to Montrose and pick the boys up Monday morning. I will head to work by 10am.

Speaking of work, I am the type of person who doesn't like surprises when I get to work after a vacation...so I checked email. I am so glad I did, as there are a number of "emergencies" I will need to address on Monday. At first I felt very stressed thinking about it, and then, because I am on vacation, I thought..."It is what it is and I can only get done what I can get done." That thought brings so much comfort! I also plan to add "vacation" into the everyday...showering with a nice soap, drinking a good cup of coffee on my porch watching the sunrise, taking a good walk everyday, and going out and about each weekend to explore places I want to know more about. I think this will help with any work stress that comes up.

Even more vacation!

Last night was very enjoyable. After spending some time reading at the pool (and in the pool because it was warm out) I went with the family to downtown Scottsdale. We wandered the shops and enjoyed all the color from the flowers.

We attempted to have dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that was suggested to me by a co-worker, but it didn't quite look like something we wanted so we went to Frank and Lupe's. It is a cute little Mexican restaurant nestled in an off street neighborhood. It is a popular place and while the food took forever to come to us, when it did it was very good! After dinner Robert and I went to the Papago BrewPub and enjoyed an orange beer and some much needed brother/sister time.

This morning I met the family for a donut and coffee at Dunkin Donuts and then Mom and I went off to shop while Dad and Robert went off to enjoy a day of baseball. Mom and I went to Fashion Square which as a mall beats any other I have been to! We then enjoyed a special lunch at Elements Restaurant, located at the Sanctuary Resort in North Scottsdale. I think I am going to make it a goal to spend an entire weekend at The Sanctuary. It looks like bliss! My camera batteries were dead so I couldn't take any pictures, but I may return at some point to snap a few photos. Elements is a restaurant run by executive chef Beau Macmillan, who is often on Food Network shows as a judge or contestant of some sort. I had this amazing pasta dish and mom had the three cheese and ham sandwich with a blackberry dipping sauce. We started with edamame which was divine! It was fun to make this a destination on a beautiful day...

We both retreated to our hotels and I sat by the pool again. We are opting for light Whole Foods dinner together and some more mom/daught time before we meet up with the boys again.

More vacation...

Today we spent the morning at the Desert Botanical Gardens. There is an exhibit there now called Chihuly in the Garden. Chihuly is a renowned glass artist and his sculptures were placed amongst the cacti and other landscapes...

The butterfly garden is super fantastic! There are a lot of species that live there, and sometimes you can have one call you a friend for a few minutes, as my brother did...

Vacation continued...

I drove from Kayenta yesterday to Scottsdale. It was about a 6 hour drive, all said and done. The drive was really beautiful so I didn't mind. I got into town and checked into my hotel. I had dinner with Mike's aunt and uncle, Sue and Chris, and their kids, Morgan and Eric. Morgan is a Freshman at ASU in the downtown campus so she gave me a tour of her dorm. Eric will be getting his driver's license soon and so he was our chauffeur. It was a nice evening!

My brother flew in this morning. I have a word to the wise...whenever you check into a hotel, make sure you check the alarm clock! For some reason my clock was set to go off at midnight, which it did! I had to wake up early to pick Robert up at the airport so had a 5am wake up call (Robert likes to travel early) but woke up at 4am instead. I picked him up around 7am and he took me to breakfast at The Daily Dose, Scottsdale's version of Denver's Snooze. It was so good. We drove North and stopped at Trader Joes, Target, Walgreens (all for things that we both need this week), and this really cool resale shop called My Sister's Closet. I then came back to the hotel and took a nap. Robert took the car and went out and about. When I woke up and got back into the groove of a vacation he and I went back into Scottsdale. I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art where they had a really cool exhibit called "The 5 Senses." Mom and Dad got in around 3pm and after they got settled we ate a delightful pizza dinner at Grimaldi's followed by dessert and a little Skee Ball at The Sugar Shack.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Desert Botanic Gardens. I am hoping for some time by the pool, too...

I am in awe at all the green, flowers and desert blooms that abound...when in Montrose the ground is still brown...

It was fun to be with the fam and in the hustle and bustle of Scottsdale! And trying to take a "family selfie" is a little challenging when Dad is taller than the group!