(In order to
simplify things, I will give kids fictitious names rather than just describe
them in each blog. I’ll keep the same names to identify them and link to other
posts involving them, just to make things more interesting for you, the
reader.)
The holidays are always a particularly rough time for
children in residential facilities. Even
some of the most cooperative and non-problematic of kids can become a nightmare
during these times. It may be trauma
related to the holiday season, the reminder that they’re away from family,
uncertainty of whether they’ll be able to have a home visit, or even the
prospect of going home for the holidays to a volatile or unstable home
environment that creates the anxiety.
You’d think I’d know better than to take overtime on day
shifts during the holidays, but then maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.
But it seems I always end up working at least one day shift during the holiday
season. This past Sunday was no exception.
Just a few days before Christmas, it was ripe for craziness.
Of course since I work third shift, Sunday morning came
after already working an 8 hours all night. Fortunately I had asked the right
questions to ensure I would be working with someone who wouldn’t sit on his ass
while I did all the work. Mr. Mac and I always have fun when we work together
so I was looking forward to it.
As it turned out, Mac and I did have our hands full all day,
but it wasn’t extremely bad. I already had my first little guy up at 6 when Mac
arrived. Little “Trevor” had been wet when I checked on him a few minutes
before se he was showering, and of course when he was getting his clothes out
of his drawer he had woken his roommate, “Bart.”
By 7, we had 5 of our 8 boys already awake and not allowed
to come out until 8:30. “Kevin” and “Huey”
were awake and feeding off of each other’s negative behavior and “Billy” was up
yet playing quietly in his room. We let the boys know that we would be calling
them out to get dressed and have breakfast in the order of the quality of their
behavior. Oops, now Billy’s roommate “Opie” and hyper little “Carter” were
awake and restless. Amazingly, “Vlad” was still sound asleep for a while.
Finally we were able to get most of the boys up and fed,
having to separate Kevin and Huey to help them get their act together. As could
be predicted during the holidays, Mac and I had to constantly keep moving to
keep the boys from killing each other.
An amazing thing happened by 10:30. We were able to bring
out board games and most of the boys (even Huey and Kevin) were doing a great
job playing nicely and getting along, for the most part. Only Vlad kept to
himself, opting to keep his eyes glued to the TV.
Lunch was the funniest part of the day. The kids from all the dorms ate together in
the cafeteria. The table I was monitoring (2 tables per dorm) was right next to
the table with the boys from the other dorm I work. In the middle of lunch, “Jimmy” (whom you’ve previously
met in earlier posts such as “Smartass—And a PAIN in the ass")got up and was getting
some water, which was right beside where I was sitting. He was being his usual silly
self and he reached over and playfully swatted at me. He ended up smacking me
in the cheek. You should have seen the look on his face, he clearly didn’t
expect to actually make contact. He got his water and scooted right back to his
table. Of course I knew he didn’t mean it, so I tried to call him over to talk
before the end of lunch, but he was acting tough and refusing to come over and
talk to me. I just figured I’d catch him later.
As far as our boys from our dorm, only about 3 of them
behaved properly at lunch (Vlad, and ironically, Huey and Kevin) so Mac and I
had to lower the boom when we got back to the dorm. While the three got to
start their free time, the rest had to spend some time in their rooms (or by
the door of their rooms in the case of those who were both in trouble. Fortunately everybody got to have free time
within 20 minutes of returning from lunch and mostly did well—with one
exception.
I don’t know what set him off, but Carter just stared going
off, and we had him go to his room to calm down. He proceeded to tear up his
room, scream and cry. Mac and I took turns trying to deescalate him, but he
kept going until nearly the end of the shift when we finally did clean his mess
up and join the other boys.
It was finally 2 O’clock and time to go. Since I won’t be
seeing any of the boys until after Christmas I went around and wished each of
our guys a Merry Christmas. Got 5 hugs and 2 fist bumps before leaving. In
another stroke of good fortune, the
manager walked on the dorm with the three boys from another dorm I work with
occasionally in addition to my two main dorms. So I got to give out 3 more fist
bumps before getting out the door. And of course I had to go visit my other
main dorm and wish those guys a Merry Christmas. More fist bumps and hugs, and
finally got to pull Jimmy aside again.
Jimmy seemed relieved I had realized he didn’t mean to hit
me, although he had played it off earlier to look tough. And of course he was excited to tell me he
would be getting to go home for the holiday in a few hours.
It could have been a whole lot worse working the Sunday
before Christmas, but I was still exhausted at the end of the day. 16 hours,
the majority of the last 8 spent on my feet.
Merry Christmas everybody!
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