Changes in the Garden...

It's been a golden day here in cold North Dakota. I live in a warm apartment and feel very blessed. Yes, it's none other than Trevor aka T Man bringing you this planted blog post. Brenda has been dealing with a lot of changes over the past couple of months. She asked me if I would be kind enough to plant the first blog post for 2024 and I gladly accepted with open paws. BOL

Brenda was afraid that she would somehow be burdening me, but I assured her that I would only be more than happy to help her carry that burden. This all comes from something she read recently. It goes something like this. "Don't say I'm sorry to have burdened you, but thank that person for helping you carry that said burden. The right ones will listen and be there." Not sure how it exactly went, so hence the quotes. Brenda is a big proponent in giving credit where it's due. Brenda also takes responsibility for when she messes up. It hits her more now, since living the life as a brain tumor survivor. She's not making excuses for this, it's that things are different now and not everything is a snap, like it is for others. She has to be able to assess the situation before she tackles a certain task.

Several months ago it was inevitable that Brenda would be taking on a new position at the company where she has been employed with for 35 years. As you know if you follow this blog, the clinic where she had been employed, was acquired by another health organization last year. It has been a year of many changes. Her department knew that at some point, their jobs would look very different. 

It was around Thanksgiving that they had a meeting to discuss what possible job opportunities would be available. At that time it was only 2, so that meant that Brenda would have to start this process by meeting with her Human Resource (HR) Partner, for which she has the utmost respect for. It meant going over her talent card, which she filled out while she was going through the onboarding process, as she was considered a new hire, even though her years of service with the clinic were recognized. Brenda was fortunate in that she has vast experience in the medical field. She has been working in some capacity in that field since 1980, so that definitely was in her favor. That was the most impressive thing that was mentioned through this whole process was her experience.

Brenda actually went on an interview, something she had not done in over 35 years. You think she wasn't intimidated, but she gave it her all and the interviewer enjoyed her time with Brenda. It ended up being over 45 minutes. She was impressed with her being flexible and willing to learn new things. Brenda had been a receptionist and switchboard operator, so these were duties she was familiar with. Brenda did all the things you do, keep in touch and hoping for the best. 

This whole experience was new for Brenda, as she actually had someone in the organization who contacted her and guided her through this whole process. It was still stressful for her, because the unknown in any situation is, plain and simple. BOL

It was about a week before Christmas that Brenda received a call, informing her that a couple of positions were a possibility in Health Information Services, where she was currently stationed. It was all a part of Medical Records, where she had been working for almost 19 years. This position would be different, in that a majority of her duties would all be electronically on the computer. Brenda was ready for a change and enjoys computer projects so much, so this would be right up her alley. When I think of alley, cats come to mind. BOL I got a little off track there, but this was definitely great news. She was also thanked for her professionalism throughout this whole process. Brenda had this, she knew what had to be done and passed with flying colors. I'm so proud of her. 

Brenda celebrated her 64th year around the sun on January 9th. Starting something new and different at this age, could be daunting. Brenda was ready for a change. Be careful what you ask for. This week was her first full week in this position. She has a new title; Document Imaging Representative. They had some training but when you are starting something new, you have to take into account that this is a learning curve. Brenda has never done anything like this before. She took notes during her training sessions. The date to go live kept getting changed, so it was frustrating. 

After the first 4 days her and another colleague found out they were doing a lot of things incorrectly. Their attitude was that they were thrown into this with very little training, so it was much like flying blind, but full steam ahead they went. They now know what they should be doing differently, but they both felt bad. No one was angry or upset and were told it was not a big deal. Brenda is a conscientious person, so this has been bothering her the past couple of days. You also have to realize with her acquired brain injury, being that of frontal lobe syndrome, this has been especially hard for her. So much so, that she has has been crying a lot. She describes her tears as being able to water a garden. Brenda is tenderhearted and wants to do a good job. I told her not to be so hard on herself. You certainly are not expected to learn everything in the first week. She did however, learn a big lesson that in the future, she will definitely be doing things a lot differently. You learn from your mistakes and move forward. 

Brenda came home last evening totally emotionally and physically drained. She has slept most of today and trying to make some semblance of this whole situation. It's not just her who is learning new things, it's pretty much all of her colleagues as some of them went to a completely new electronic medical system. Brenda however, will not be working out of that but with another system, doing her job a lot more differently as was shared up above. 

It will get better and Brenda will gain her self confidence back. She is the one who feels bad about this and will work through it, as she has any other challenge that has come her way. We hope this planted blog post will somehow show you, that we all face changes in our gardens at times. What we do and how we face these changes determines how they will continue to flourish or if we completely ignore, eventually will die. Brenda is working toward the first aspect. She will get there. 

Before I finish this planted blog post, Brenda wanted me to share a seed of enrichment with you. Keep blooming, my friends! 

"Don't measure your success by other people's standards, but learn to be content with your own abilities." @blk 

~Trevor aka T Man Barking off~ 💛