Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Nerves and Stomach Pains

So if last week I was worried about making delicious chocolate mousse pies, that's the furthest thing from my mind this week. It could be that the pie actually turned out tasty. Or, it could be that I made an awesome dinner on Saturday for some friends, thus proving I am an awesome cook. But probably it's because I was sick with the stomach flu for two days, and when I think about food even now, I still want to vomit. Blecch.

Apart from an aversion to eating again and some lingering dehydration, I'm pretty much fully recovered. Which is good, because tonight's my first night on-call for the volunteer program I previously mentioned. I got my pager and staff phone out this morning and was fiddling a little bit. Shortly, I'm going to grab my training materials and go through what I need to do tonight.

Suffice it to say, I'm a little nervous. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so nervous, since I have worked with DV clients before, and even represented them in court. In theory, you would think that is more nervewracking. But, it seems different. When I've volunteered before, I've helped with mainly the legal system, which I know fairly well. Also, by the time you met someone as a legal advocate, the urgency of the situation has tapered off somewhat , and my role at least seemed a little more one-dimensional and detached. With the new on-call program, though, I feel much more aware of the immediacy of what's going on, and much more responsible for being a more comprehensive advocate and empathetic listener (or is it sympathetic listener?). So, I'm nervous.

In any case, my first shift starts this evening. We'll see how it goes.

2 comments:

Our Heroine said...

You'll be a calming center of strenghth for your ladies, I'm absolutely sure of it.

Rebecca said...

You're going to do great. Have no fear. You'll give them the strength they need. :)