Rantings of a Grumpy Old Woman

     Today marks my 6th official day as an employee of the state. My job title is case worker for the Department of Child Safety... or commonly known, social worker for CPS (child protective services). Regardless of the agency name or what people know it as, my job is to help children and families. Period.      Many people have their preconceived notions regarding what the organization does and its responsibilities. Basically, people think that I am the devil. They believe that I am out to remove their children from them for no reason, for things that are trivial and ridiculous. The fact of the matter is, it's not true. So far, I've come across a wide range of situations consisting of teenage runaways, physical abuse, neglect, addiction, sexual abuse, etc. I haven't had to delve too deep into it, but there are some disturbing things that I've read and seen so far.      Why would anyone want this job then, you ask? To make a difference... ...

     Each year when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, people kiss the ones they love, they sing Auld Lang Syne, and they participate in general debauchery. The liquor flows, the nicotine burns, the eating commences. Basically, every piss poor habit that a person feels that they may have, gets over indulged on this particular day and more than likely the last 30 or so days leading up to it.      New year, new me, right? I'm going to wake up somewhere between 8am and 6pm on January 1st, and I'm going to resolve to change things that I feel are bad. I'm going to drag my ass to the now overcrowded gym daily for about 2 or 3 weeks. Then I'll start finding excuses...I'll eat a few cheeseburgers. Yes, I've done this practically every year since I was old enough to understand I actually had faults (so, about 3 years ago, maybe). Each time, it was something about my health. I was going to quit smoking. I was going to go on a diet. I was going to work out ...