my job is not hip to the kids.

one of my younger clients told me i embarrass her and she hates me and never wants to see me again. i thought, on the scale of big deals, this is NO big deal. i've been spit on and seen things no therapist should ever see. bring on the hate, buddy. she went on and on and on while i did my best to keep my neutral face and not roll my eyes.

and then i got a hold of her reality and my empathy. i really did embarrass her when i talked to her at school. she doesn't really hate me, she just hates that people keep leaving her and i'm the newest member of the team. she's protecting herself from when i might leave. she's brilliant, really. resilient, too.

it ended with her still pissed off at me. who wants to tell their friends that they have a social worker or therapist and that they're a foster kid? last time i checked, that's not a cool thing to have or be. so i sucked it up. i owned that i made a mistake and totally embarrassed her. and i sat there, eating my humble pie while she walked back to class. i tried to remember what it was like to be a pre-teen. i was so impressionable. and so is she.

always learning something new: waiting by the water fountain for you to talk to me first.