Little lingonberries can add up to great things...

So, I work in the gift industry, but have a degree in social work and have been actively pursuing a social work position.  Unfortunately for the social work field right now, beginning social workers do not have many options.  Social service agencies have adopted a largely "fee-for-service" model, in which therapists take on clients on an hourly basis (no salary, no benefits, large amounts of travel...) and do not get paid for sick time, a client not showing up, a client prematurely ending therapy, etc.  Some agencies do this better than others.  I have a friend, for example, who works FFS with a diverse 26-client caseload and weekly supervision (paid!).  She is also paid for paperwork (treatment planning), allowed to bill for phone calls and cooperative care with other agencies, and given a gas stipend.  I like this agency... I wish I lived in the same state that she does!

I, on the other hand, interviewed for (and was offered positions at) not one, but 2 agencies where I would only be allowed 5 clients for my first three months, would not be paid for paperwork, mandatory trainings, gas mileage (FFS is largely meeting with clients in their homes), and supervision would be mandatory... but I would have to pay for it.  I was getting discouraged... when I turned the jobs down, I had to wonder; would I be offered something better?  Or was I doomed to make four hundred dollars a month minus the cost of supervision?

Just when I was getting really discouraged... sending out resumes to anyone who would potentially have a position I was qualified for (even if I thought I would hate the job), NOT hearing back from anyone, thinking that maybe quitting my gift-industry job and volunteering for a year would be my way in to the field... maybe you know the desperation?, I got a job interview at a truly amazing organization.

On Tuesday, they offered me a full-time job.

So I got to go into work on Wednesday... and quit!  And to say that it felt incredible... like my adult life was about to start, like I hadn't wasted a year and a half somewhere where I was unhappy... would be the understatement of the century.

So here's what I've learned from this:

Sometimes when you are only focused on the lemons, you miss the little lingonberries.  

And you should really be looking for the little lingonberries, because, let's face it.  God is good.  Life is good. And little lingonberries are everywhere.