It’s been nearly a week since I last worked a “real” shift at work. It’s been a welcome respite. I’ve spent the past four days (with one more day to go) participating in a basic facilitator training for recreational professionals. Basically I’m getting paid a week’s wage to play ridiculous games and lead (facilitate) ridiculous games. There have been rope swings, beatings with giant noodles, bubbling lava fields, wizards and more. Getting paid to run around. No complaints here.

Normally I dread any work related training, but I’ve actually been getting a heck of a lot more out of this one than I initially thought I would. Unlike most trainings I’ve participated in, this one provided useful, practical, and interesting information. And was fun to boot. The games have been entertaining without being too cheesy. My fellow trainees have all been pleasant and down to earth. And our instructor might be the nicest human being I’ve ever met in my life. Makes me look forward to the high ropes training and certification I should be tacking onto this later on in the spring.

Sadly, though another tangential lesson I’ve picked up from this past week is how much better I feel as a person when I’m removed from the craziness of my job. I’m still spending a required eight hours on location doing tasks that have stress associated with them, but the constant grind of kids’ negativity isn’t there and that makes a world of difference. I just feel some much more at ease at night. Like my brain isn’t all traumatized from the day and is just loafing in a hammock. Sipping on a cool glass of lemonade while watching the sunset.