I'd dance in a storm with my best dress on...Fearless

The past week has been so great I almost feel as though I might wake up and none of it will be real. It was one week ago tonight that I finished up my job. I feel like I haven't been there in years and I'm not as sad about it as I thought I would be. I mean I do miss my residents and staff terribly, but that job was really weighing me down. I feel completely different since leaving...I'm sleeping better and my skin has even cleared completely...may just be a coincidence, but they do say stress can cause breakouts...who knows... I guess the stress of coordinating schedules and basically having the fate of 13 residents on my shoulders is a lot to deal with at the age of 22. I have still being talking to my relief manager so I got updates and things seem to be running pretty smoothly. It is interesting though, my leaving may have started a trend because two other staff put in their two weeks notice since I left last weekend...probably just another coincidence.
Besides having a week of job-free relaxation this week was also Christmas which went fabulously well. We opened our gifts on Christmas Eve with Karen, Kevin and Gram here which was nice as always. We had a nice dinner and after opening gifts we went to 10:30 mass. It's sad to think it was our last Christmas Eve mass at St. Bridget's Church...unless we want to brush up on our Spanish for next year. The church was as beautiful as always and the choir was really good which is my favorite part singing all the Christmas songs. I got everything I wanted from Santa (aka Mag and Jack) this year so I guess I was a good girl = ) Mostly just clothes...my big gift was a new down comforter, duvet cover and super fabulous expensive sheets for my bed. I love good linens since I spend lots of free time lounging on my bed. I'm pretty sure everyone liked the gifts I got them as well. No one asked for the receipts so I take that as a good sign.
The best part of the past week has been seeing my friends and hanging out like old times. Spending time with them again makes me realize that no matter how far apart we might be at times or how much we change we will always be able to come back together and it will be like nothing has changed at all.
This past week I have also become obsessed with watching movies. I have been watching tons of movies on TV and online randomly. Since I have the next month off and they were having a free trial I signed up for Netflix. I made a huge list of movies for my "queue" so now I am just waiting for them to send the first one. I figure I can swing the $8.99 a month if I like it. Now that I have the DVD player in my new bedroom television I figure I should watch more movies instead of falling asleep to sit-com reruns that I have seen two billion times. We will see how it goes...I'm excited about the idea of seeing lots of classic movies that I have always wanted to see but never motivated myself to go rent from the video store.

Just Keep Dancing

Tonight was my last night at work. I can't believe I won't be going back there in a few days. The time since I put in my letter of resignation has been surreal. I found out about three weeks ago that my old boss Suzanne wanted me back at the nursing home where I was an intern during college. While I loved my current job, I really could not turn down the offer. First of all I would actually be using my degree in Social Work and second I would have my own office and weekends off...huge selling points!!! So I gave my notice and here I am. Telling everyone I was leaving was really difficult. Even though sometimes the stress of the job drove me nutty and the silly policies the main office kept raining down on us were insane...I really LOVED my residents and staff. It was very comforting though to hear how missed I am going to be and how people thought I was wise for taking the offer. Tonight saying goodbye wasn't easy though. I became so comfortable and knew everything and it's scary to leave all of that behind. It felt like I was turning over my own apartment (my faux office) when I left. I had to hand in my keys and everything =( The worst part was saying goodbye to the residents. A few of them cried and I got a lot of really big hugs! One of my residents mom's bought me candle holders and a plant which I thought was really sweet. And two of my residents got me goodbye cards. I told them I would come back to visit and I hope it's a promise that I actually keep. Going back to places after you've left can sometimes feel awkward, but I may give it a try at least once and see how it goes. I gave a few residents who asked for it my cell phone number...a decision I may later regret lol but oh well! For now I have a few weeks off and I can't wait to spend them with my family and friends and enjoy the holidays.