Back at work

I took three weeks off and came back yesterday. 
Being off was more difficult than I thought.  That is not a good thing.

Part of the problem is that we went down to the beach house and opened the doors and people poured in. All good friends, some we hadn't seen for years and others from around the corner.  Most stayed for a night, or two or three, even four.  It was great to see everyone but it was not the way I usually escape, which is to sit and make sure the tide is on schedule and not talk to anyone.

But that was only part of the difficulty.  The other part was that, while most of my friends are doing quite well, many of their kids are not. This seems to be common, and distressing and too much like work, except that I can't do much about it. 

These "kids" to which I refer, range in age from 24 to 38.  One needs an operation and had to scramble to get health insurance.  Another probably has the early signs of a chronic, debilitating disease.  Those situations are distressing.  But even more common are the kids who are struggling to find a decent job, to grow up and be independent.  The problems are much more economic than psychological, but they become psychological, and are very distressing to their parents. 

What becomes worse is that these kids either don't get married, because they can't afford it, or the marriages are falling apart, to a large extent because of economic pressure.  When the marriages fall apart many of the kids come back to their parents.  Many of them bring their very young children.


This is not good -- not good for the grand-kids, the kids or the people my age.  It's not good for the country or the world.  It didn't help the vacation.

Back in the office, I began seeing the patients I had been away from for three weeks.  I wondered if my business would last or if the recession would change things even for me.  But today, the second day back, I got several calls from people looking for help.  The issues they want deal with involved themselves and their grown or almost grown kids.  They needed to find their way in the world; they needed jobs, AND, to fight the boredom and depression many of the kids between 16 and 26 have been taking Percs and Oxys to ease the pain -- the psychological pain.

Things are not good out there , and once families begin to struggle the drop in quality of life can be swift and steep.  

This is not good.  But at lest in my office I can try, at least try, to do something about it.