Volunteering

--Originally posted on February 2, 2007

Well, I am up late tonight, and I just can't fall asleep. I told LDS Family Services today that I couldn't take a job with them. I am so sad about this because it's what I have wanted to do for along time. I think working with adotive families and birth mothers would be a very rewarding job, but I feel even more strongly that my kids need me right now and they are the most important thing to me. Luckily, LDS Family services feels that children are the most important priority as well, and I think that when I feel the kids are ready there will be a job for me there.

I am still volunteering for them though, and they gave me my first thing to do tonight. I am going to help a birth mother who is due soon to get through the next few weeks. I am really nervous about this, but I just have to keep telling myself that I am a great social worker, and I can do a wonderful job at helping people with this sort of thing.

I think the most important thing for me to do is to empower the people that I am working with, and help them feel in control of their own lives and the decisions they are making. I feel very strongly when you are making a decision on whether or not to give a baby up for adoption, that it should be an informed decision that only that person makes. I can only start to imagine what a huge decision it would be to give up a child. All I know is that there are people in this world who would give anything to have a child, so the world is not lacking in wonderful placement options.

I am glad that I can volunteer though and use the skills I have so they don't get rusty. It always feel good to do things for others, and I have found that when you are helping others that you kind of forget the things that seem difficult in your own life. It's a motto that I have let slide in the past few years, but one that I am determined to put back into practice. Wish me luck!