6 months and 4 days.

I'm very close to reaching the point of working 6 months straight with only 4 days off. Yes, seven days a week. I'm not quite sure why I took the job at the psychiatric hospital, but often I find myself thinking through this ridiculous decision time and time again, rationalizing, since I've been given this gift. I didn't need the job financially, and as the saying goes, you definitely spend what you make, or at least your wife does. The more you work, the more you make, the poorer you seem to get. I still haven't found an answer to justify the end. I decided to quit yesterday while I was at my regular place of employment. I was setting up an appointment with a client, glanced at the calendar, and the reality that it was already May hit me. Where has my life gone, so quickly whisking by me, only to be accompanied by pay check after pay check? Sure, it's rewarding to get those checks, to be financially stable, to not have to worry about the strange addiction my wife and I have to TV show DVD sets. But is it worth giving away the best years of my life? I found myself missing hanging out with friends on the weekend, taking kayaking trips with the family, driving up to Springfield for an escape from the real life, and drinking heavily to drown away my worries. However, right after I decided to quit, my new boss calls and tells me how much she appreciates me and informs me that I'm doing a great job. This always seems to happen to me...I muster up enough balls to put in my notice and I get that unexpected compliment. Well, I preceded to write the letter for my resignation, and I will submit it tomorrow.

All the while, at the hospital today I experienced my first five point restraint (strapping a child, arms, legs, and chest, to a bed), saw a child quickly fold under the medical restraint of Thorazine and had to physically restrain another child as he hit, kicked, spit, and yelled profanity at the nurses. Another great day of unending adventure in the mental health field. I feel as if I've done my part, but I still do not get to rest on the seventh day.