reflections

(we actually have this poster hanging in the clinic)

so i just completed my first week back in the non-stay-at-home working world. it is taking some getting used to. i don't think i have worked a 4o hour work week since maybe Feb 2008? cause about halfway through my pregnancy i went part time at the job i was in at that time. anyway, i forgot how much that meant i would be gone from the house and how that the new working environment would be my home away from home. thankfully my new coworkers are nice people, and they really do create a family atmosphere so that helps. and i like the job i'm doing (mostly--except for the couple of hours mid-day when the doctors are at lunch and the place is pretty boring) so that helps too.

its very much the "grass is always greener" syndrome for me though. before i would give anything to have a break from being at home all day with caitlin. now i find myself constantly thinking about what she may or may not be doing at any given time during the day. i brought a picture of her to put on my locker at work, so when those thoughts come i just see her smiling face and it usually calms my mind.

i am learning alot. the clinic i'm at has a training program set up so that there are about 8 different sessions to complete and each session takes about 2 weeks usually. then when you have accomplished the given tasks per session there is a quiz to take to make sure you really understand how to do things. that way too the clinic has proof you were trained properly should they need documentation for any reason. but i am making good progress. my trainer said i'm actually learning quicker than some others before me. i'd say my major hurdle right now is mentally telling myself that when i'm restraining a cat its not hurting him, that its for its own safety, etc. eventually i will be having to put a cat under anesthesia and inserting a breathing tube down its throat while doing so. oh boy.

so far i've watched a couple different surgeries: neuter (which only takes like 6 minutes from start to finish. amazing.), spay, declaw, and a surgery to remove stuff from a cat's intestine. i've seen a partial teeth cleaning. i've witnessed an euthanization. i've made a memorial clay paw imprint. i've cleaned kennels. i've done laundry. i've washed dishes. i've mopped and vacuumed. i watched a cat get a "lion cut" and a "sani cut". i've learned a computer system. i've taken patient histories. i've run 3 different blood tests in our lab. i've fallen in love with several cats. i've started making friendships.

i think this job is going to turn out wonderfully. and i am so thankful for that. cause if i have to be away from my family at least i'm doing something worthwhile!