Cherry Pop

That Monday morning feeling…I fight with the duvet but manage to free myself from it and quickly go through my routine and I’m out of the door forty five minutes later. I walk to work thinking about looking for another job. When I get to the office I’m the only one in, so I pick up the milk, unlock the door and switch the lights on. Coffee first, then I switch on my computer.

Opening my diary, I see that I’ve got a full day. Three appointments, a team meeting and numerous phonecalls to make. Colleagues begin to trickle in and we discuss our weekends. I met a friend for dinner, bumped into another friend by accident, had coffee with him and then celebrated another’s birthday, standing in the freezing cold beer garden of a pub. Nice though, and caught up with someone I hadn’t seen in about a year.

My first client arrives and generates tonnes of work. I quickly fire off emails and make a couple of phone calls on her behalf. I tell our youth worker that her son is refusing to go to school, despite their meetings and agreements. The phone rings non-stop.

Into the team meeting where we’re told that we will be moving offices in a few months time, even though we’ve all been against this. I vow to look for another job, for about the 100th time this year and it’s only the beginning of February. Perhaps a Secondary education job. The phone still rings constantly.

My second client of the day rings to reschedule, and I’m relieved to have a bit of extra time. I phone people and do paperwork until my next client turns up. She isn’t very well and needs more emotional help than she’s getting. I tell her I’ll ask my friend who’s a mental health social worker where she can get help from. She gives me a box of chocolates which I share around my colleagues after she’s left, they eat in between phone calls.

My day ends in a frenzy as I quickly go through my work to make sure there’s nothing urgent that I’ve missed. The phone is still ringing. I switch off my computer nine hours after I switched it on. I walk home knowing I will not move with the company but instead will either leave to go to another job or just leave. This feels like the right decision and suddenly all of my energy comes rushing back.