I'M GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD, MAYBE

I truly believe that I can save the world or at least the world that revolves around me. Once you become part of my world, you're there for life and I'm going to want to help you. If there's a problem, I'm going to try to fix it or come up with the solution.
It's part of the reason that I do the job that I do (working with families with kids with autism). I'm going to do everything in my power to help, to make things better for you. It's what makes me good at what I do. I truly care.
Unfortunately, it's also the part of myself that takes the good and the bad home with me at night. I have a lot of trouble knowing that I can't save everybody. I know that just the little bit I can do helps but I want to do more and sometimes, you can't. I want to save everyone and make life better for everyone.
Working with kids with autism, you learn that it's the little steps that count. It helps you find the little accomplishments. The part of you, that is so thrilled because you were only scratcbed three times in an hour, where earlier that month you would have scratched every three minutes for the whole hour. I can become so excited about the tiniest accomplishments that the kids make.
So why can't I be excited about the tiniest differences that I make for these kids and families. Why? Because I want to do more. I can't settle for not doing all that I can do. I can't settle for just doing what I can do, there's got to be more that can be done.
I know that you are supposed to leave work at work, not to bring it home with you. But everyday, my work comes home with me. I think about the kids and the families that I work with while lying on the sofa watching television. In some of the time before I fall asleep I'm going to think about what I can do tomorrow to make things better, to help one person. It's the part that makes me thrilled and excited to be at my job and it's the part of me that makes me cry with the realization that, maybe, it's all I can do!