These past few months have been very challenging for
myself and my family. Some of them good
and some of them not so good. Some days
I have had time to write, but no inspiration or desire to. Other days, I wanted to write but had to take
care of other responsibilities. Been
very frustrating at times.
I have started my new position as Unit Case
Worker. Although I didn’t have a whole
of quality ‘on the job training,’ I did get some. As is often the case, I did a lot of ‘hit the
ground running’ kind of training. But,
having been an Acting Case Worker several times before this, I was able to
adapt pretty quickly. For the most part,
I have been working either in 3AB or one of the Protective Custody units. Housing Unit 3 has been pretty smooth for the
most part. Many of the Inmates there
have known me for years, so they know what to expect from me. In fact, many of them seem to prefer me in my
new Case Worker role.
The Protective Custody (PC) units that I have worked
with have either been pretty good or awful.
Well, one unit in particular houses the ‘more difficult’ Inmates who are
PC, and then tend to be the most difficult to deal with. At least for me. What’s ironic is that another group that are
in a substance abuse program often have similar issues as the other ‘difficult’
PC group. However, because of the
program that they are in and how it can impact their parole, promotion to a
lower custody and transfer to another institution, or release, they have a very
strong incentive to follow directions. It
is very interesting noting the different dynamics in the different units.
About a week ago I put in my bid for what shift and Housing
Unit that I want to work on. I should
find out this week with whether I got my first or second choice. Considering the fact that both are for the
same shift (Afternoon/evening) and same Housing Unit, just different sides,
either one is fine with me.
Probably one of my biggest challenges the past few
months have been the chronic pain that I deal with on a daily basis. After 15 years with the Army, three of them
with the 82nd Airborne Division, and during my 4th
deployment, I developed problems with my lower back and both knees. It turns out that I have arthritis in both
knees, though my right usually is worse, and permanent damage to several of the
discs in my lower back. This past winter
had been really rough, especially with my knees.
It hasn’t been all bad. Our daughter just celebrated a birthday
earlier this month and participated in her first dance competition. Her group did so well that they took all of
the top awards for their age group, which was very impressive. Needless to say, we were all very proud of her
for that!
Both kids are doing pretty well in school. Their third quarter finished recently, and
both received a lot of good marks. And
both improved in several catagories since last quarter, which is also awesome.
On the few occasions that weather and my schedule has
allowed me, I have been leading an adult Bible Study. At the beginning of this year, our pastor had
our congregation read through the book “All In” by Mark Batterson. Due to my work load, I was not able to read
the book until recently. And, I have not
read too much yet. However, my wife did
read the whole book with the rest of the church. She thought that it was pretty good, but didn’t
really go into the “so what, now what?”
That is, how does one actively apply what has been learned.
So, what I decided to do was ask those that attend the
Bible Study to come up with at least one example in the Old Testament and the
New Testament that they though really embraced the “all in” that the book talks
about. So, we have talked about Malachi
and will be talking about John the Baptist next week. In the future we will discuss people like
Jeremiah, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and several others. If you are interested, I can put my notes
into a blog entry or two in the future.
Just let me know.
Oh, one other significant thing going on in our
lives. I have started the Army Medical Evaluation
Board (MEB) for getting medically retired from the Army. I had hoped that I could get my 20 and earn
at least my E7/Sergeant First Class.
But, unfortunately, that is not going to happen. In fact, I will be attending a retirement
brief next month. I will be retiring
with 18+ years in the Army, both Active Duty and with the Nebraska National
Guard. I have had many enjoyable times,
and many painful times. But, I have also
learned a lot. Of all the deployments
that I’ve had, probably my third one in 2010 was the most enjoyable and awe-inspiring. But, that’s a story for another time.
Not a whole lot else is new for us. Just really busy with all that is going on. My wife hopes to be teaching within the next
few years, so that will be another positive change in our lives. I will also be going through training with
the Nebraska Department of Corrections next week. With this training, I will not only be
assisting with teaching First Aid/CPR (through ASHI), but also facilitating a
program geared with helping Inmates change destructive thinking. At least, that is how I understand it. More on that another time, too.
Please do not hesitate to let me know what you think
of my blog entries. Or, if you would
like me to post my thoughts on a particular topic, let me know. I have noticed that I do not have a
followers. If you really enjoy what I
write, that will be the easiest way to know when I will be posting more.
In Christ,
RC
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