I've climbed out of the hole

I think I was having a pregnancy induced pity party for myself for the last week and a half but have officially declared it over. Unfortunately, it took a scream fest at Dave to realize how incredibly self obsessed and tunnel visioned I had become. To my credit having full responsibility for the Mizz for two and a half weeks would sort of limit anyone's vision and perhaps, no offense my sweet angel, throw anyone off kilter a little bit. His latest trick involved shoving a strawberry into the vent of the dishwasher. Fortunately Dave was home so he could DISASSEMBLE the entire front of the machine to retrieve said strawberry and a renegade playing card that had found its way in there at some point. To Mizz's credit, he at least confessed his crime BEFORE the machine blew up. He has also figured out how to beat the lock on the kitchen trash can and so with bittersweet relief we removed the lock. While this is certainly more convenient, I am dreading the day when I find all of the contents strewn around the kitchen or worse something irreplaceable gone. Mizz knows he is not supposed to go into the trash can which only seems to make him want to do it more or at least as a means to get my attention when I am ignoring him, I mean doing the dishes, cooking, talking on the phone, blogging...

I think my mood also took a turn for the worse when on Thanksgiving day I was driving to Whole Foods to pick up our happy, non frozen, chemical free turkey and I drove past the lines of people waiting outside at the various shelters. Not only did it make me miss my old job but it was also a visceral reminder that so many people were not going to have a holiday that met their basic needs, let alone a day to spend stuffing themselves and laughing with family and friends. I did take several moments to appreciate my life--specifically the people that are in it and I resolved to make a donation to one of the more helpful shelters and continue to look for ways that I can make a difference even while I am at home. Apparently I am still a social worker despite all the burned out, cynical feelings toward "the system" and society at large.