Easter Plans
For Easter I plan to spend the majority of Holy Week at the Clubhouse and the weekend with my family. We haven’t got together since last Easter. This year, I will be making the pasta salad, a dish I love at Easter.
So, I feel good that I can contribute to the meal. I have spent the last few Holidays in my apartment for the most part because of the resurgence of COVID cases over the holidays. I go for my second dose of my COVID Vaccine next week and am finally seeing some light to the end of the dark and dreary tunnel. Slowly but surely, I am stepping safely back into the community and by doing so it is making my mood and attitude more positive.
A Lesson in Resilency
I was shopping in Walmart the other day and I overheard a supervisor at the checkouts saying she needed cashiers to work but no one’s applying because no one wants a job. Many times, I feel down and out when I get up in the
morning, especially on a work morning. But I used the coping techniques I have been taught in many years of outpatient therapy and got the courage to go.
My moral of the story is, if you have a job, don’t try to get out of having to work because it may seem boring or you think you are tired. Make use of your hours you have scheduled. Do the tasks that you are assigned by your
superiors. When you are finished, ask them or if they are not there another team member if there is something to do. No matter the job, you always want to appear that you want to be there and have the drive and stamina to
do the job correctly. If you have a question, ask for help, because that is much better than guessing and getting it wrong. Oftentimes, those who supervise you want you to do your tasks correctly and are more than likely to go the
extra steps because they value you as an employee.
Now I know that is easier said than done for many members and those who have mental health conditions or other underlying factors or barriers in their employment. However, just celebrating my 11th year being gainfully
employed, I do not do it for the money. I do it because I enjoy it and it fits me well. As has been in recent stories and social media posts from Goodwill, it took me a long time to get where I came from, not only in my employment, but as a Clubhouse Member. This July will be 17 years and all but the one year I was away at trade school I have awaken most days and have either came to Clubhouse or work.
This past year has been hard on everyone, more so for me as I had to move in with my parents and get back on my feet in the course of the past year, all while putting my recovery journey in jeopardy, Lately, many times it is easier to just stop doing everything and just be a dependent on society. However, now with a sound mind and recovery finally being back on track after flirting with it for a little over two years, I am proud of who and where I am. I know I must be resilient because I need to be strong for all of us at Clubhouse. Yes, we are going through a challenging time, but hang in their Clubhouse Family, we will
overcome.
Dustin's Dynasty 