Oooo that smell

I had a site visit this morning at a local drop in center for people with mental illness. It has been a few years since I have worked with this population especially in this scenario. As I am walking through the door I am quickly reminded of how this population smells. SMACK right in the nose! It is nothing that can be detailed in words but I will do my best. Think a week or month without showering, mix a dash of foot and just a splash of ass and alcohol and you may just have it. WHOOOOO! It doesn't smell as much as it burns your eyes!

Anyhoo, I make my way through the smell and enter the clubhouse where I am greeted by random people who want to shake my hand and give me a hug (I gracefully declined these offers). I don't know these folks but they sure want to know me. I can see it in their faces, FRESH MEAT!!! I enter my meeting which is interrupted various times by people needing to say hello.

As I am leaving, I meet up with my friend Jenny who works there for a quick break. She looks tired but says she is doing fine. Not two minutes into our conversation she is approached by a client that I assume she knows well. He is asking for a loan. She rolls her eyes and sends him in to let other people deal with it. Smart lady. I miss this. I think that I need this in my life again. The chaos, the funny stories, the client contact. I miss it. All I get are eating disorders and failing grades and my one stalker. That's no fun. What was the most interesting change was that when I got in the car I reached for my antibacterial handi-wipes that were once a staple of my existence. I had none. What has my life become?