I know it's not my job to get personally involved with a client.
She's on Facebook. I know that eventually she will read my blog. If I get fired for that, oh well. I think I would rather have her as a friend than a client anyway, but I need that paycheck.
There is always Giant Eagle.
She has a cat. I don't hate cats, and this one is an especially friendly tiger cat, but I've never been a cat person. I'm wondering if I can encourage her to be more careful about using the litter box instead of the newspaper. Probably not. She is queen of her castle. She twitches her tail when she looks at me as though she is sizing me up. I wonder what she thinks of me.
The client (no names) is funny, smart and eerily like me in more ways than I have room to mention. She used to live in one of my favorite places. She likes ice cream and rides to the lake. We like butterflies. We are perfectionists in some ways. We like music. We are artists--she with a paintbrush, I with my words.
I still don't know if I am cut out for this job. I do things for her that Hubby does for me. Maybe God is trying to teach me to do those things again for a reason. She has become part of my life for a reason, too; I just don't know what it is yet.
I have to remind myself that it is a job. That's hard for me because of who I am and who she is. Can I do this? Maybe if I can get more hours at job #2. I don't work for pleasure, I work for money. I may have to change jobs again for strictly financial reasons. If I have to do that, I'll miss her. It isn't just a job, that's the problem.
My reasons for being a caregiver are many. Some of it is "giving back", some of it is a need to help, some of it was simply because it was available to me at the moment. After my first day, I was scared. After the second day I felt overwhelmed. By the third day, I have found a friend. That wasn't supposed to happen.
Can I do this? That remains the question. Maybe I can.
i don't know about that, mzz. (the part where making a friend wasn't supposed to happen....) my fourth day on the job with the same lady has resulted in this: on monday day #3 with her, she told me her daughter asked her how the new "aide" was working out. she told her daughter i'm more like a friend. i stopped in my tracks and didn't let her see my jaw drop. i just said thank you! and let it alone. today i walked in this morning wearing a blue jean skirt and a white t-shirt. she said i looked cute and thought i was 40 years old! Big LOL! she came out of her room a few minutes later, dressed to go to the doc and some errands wearing, guess what?.... a blue jean jumpsuit. it was cute and funnier than hell (inside) with white sneakers, like me. i could barely contain myself. point of all this is, i talk to her like i'd talk to my mother, plain, direct, no beating around the bush, i joke, i'm loose, i take care of what she asks (which is barely anything...) and she lets me go early and pays the full amount. i believe in four days i softened an otherwise hard, perfectionist exterior and have formed a mutually respectful bond. it's temporary. as soon as she feels strong enough, she won't need anyone, and i'll move on. so far, as a diversion to the singing, cooking and life in general here in south florida it's been an easy way to make the car payment and buy a few groceries!!!
ReplyDeleteglad to hear this one is turning into something good for you.