synergy

Still in a holding pattern

No news yet on K's job. We had a good weekend. We went south to a wedding on Saturday and it was a beautiful drive through the countryside and mountains. However, upon entering the town, where the wedding was held, we were immediately greeted with a roadside stand waving a banner "Johnny Reb's Dixie Outpost". It confirmed every stereotype we had of the area.

Sunday, we slowly headed home, stopping to visit college campuses and see a friend of mine. It was another perfect day and a 3.5 hour drive took us 8 hours, by the time we stopped for lunch, coffee, and dinner.

We had hoped that this week K would be placed in a new position. What she had been told was that there were 120 day temporary assignments and then she would be permanently placed with the group, if she wowed them. As it turns out, she's being requested by name from some managers to immediately be moved into a permanent assignment. This has done wonders for K's ego.

The new manager, who is guiding K (and other homeless employees) through the reorg process, is excellent. He and his deputy appear to care about what happens to the people and be sensitive to the emotional turmoil that the reorg has created. One of the best outcomes of this whole process is that K will be working for a better management team and she may have work that she find more intellectually stimulating.

K continues to handle this very well. Michele mentioned a concern that K may be entering a manic stage, but that isn't likely. K has never had a traditional manic episode. She would be happy to have a productive bout of mania. That's one reason that her bipolar disorder was difficult to diagnose. K's mania manifests as rage, of which there has been plenty the past few weeks. She is good about managing the rage through self-control and meds.

As I said last week, it's looking as if this entire situation will have a positive outcome for K, especially as she hasn't been happy or stimulated by her job in some time. As she is talking to the new managers, they are providing her with lots of positive feedback and are impressed by her background. That recognition is doing an excellent job of off-setting the negative feedback that she heard a couple weeks ago.

I'm thrilled to see her be able to stand alone again. I'm not missing the dominant role. Rather I would like her to be confident and take an equal part in our relationship. We're closer to achieve the equal balance than we have been since the onset of bipolar disorder. I'm also becoming more confident that K can react and survive any situation that confronts her. It's a good feeling.

posted by synergy @ 1:41 PM