Working as a social worker doing lots of home visits in the community certainly keeps my miles up. My service covers two London boroughs and even though I make an effort to concentrate my visits for any particular day in particular areas to make sure there's not too much zig-zagging around, there's inevitably a lot of walking. I quite enjoy that though and often feel better for having had a bit of fresh air and exercise.
It's less glamorous when it comes to other human needs though, like tea, lunch and toilet breaks. I'm often far too far away from the office to pop back and while I have many clients who will offer me a cup of tea, which I'd gladly accept, there are also many where I'd rather play it safe or where it would neither be desirable nor appropriate to ask to use their bathroom. My knowledge of which local supermarkets, stations etc have toilet facilities is growing by the day.
As for lunch, it's usually a choice between spending a small fortune and sitting in the warm and dry in a cafe, scoffing a sandwich on the bus or eating outside, something which can be very pleasant in the sunmer (if I happen to be near a green space and not just a bench on a high street). Eating outside at this time of year is a bit more of a gamble, I discovered today, when a 10 minute snowstorm rudely interrupted my cheese and onion sandwich. So much for my thinking that the park bench would be more pleasant than the bus!
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Refreshing Rain
I've been feeling pretty low this week. My asthma has been quite bad, which in turn has made me feel quite sluggish and energy-less. I had a day off work sick yesterday because I couldn't quite seem to work up the momentum to get out of bed.
But then today magically I felt a little revived. The weather was not exactly what you'd call inspiring - a typical grey drizzly London day, and it all started off badly with train delays and cancellations. And one thing I have found with my job is that more often than not, even if I go into the office feeling less than 100%, going out to see patients will often perk me up. And by the time I'd walked to and from various stations and buses to and from my home visits, I'd put 3 miles on the pedometer. And since I was feeling that little bit more lively and enjoying the drizzle-laden fresh air, I decided to go for it and walk home. So at the end of the day, 5.5 miles made me feel a lot more like myself again, and like I'd achieved something to boot :-)
But then today magically I felt a little revived. The weather was not exactly what you'd call inspiring - a typical grey drizzly London day, and it all started off badly with train delays and cancellations. And one thing I have found with my job is that more often than not, even if I go into the office feeling less than 100%, going out to see patients will often perk me up. And by the time I'd walked to and from various stations and buses to and from my home visits, I'd put 3 miles on the pedometer. And since I was feeling that little bit more lively and enjoying the drizzle-laden fresh air, I decided to go for it and walk home. So at the end of the day, 5.5 miles made me feel a lot more like myself again, and like I'd achieved something to boot :-)
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