I mentioned in this post about Mark Riley, a man I met at the NACAC conference in Tampa last week. Mark used to work for the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and has tons and tons of contacts in the child welfare arena.


Mark is excited about what ATN is doing, and on that note is plugging me into many of his contacts. While this is quite exciting, it is also a scary prospect … will we be biting off more than we can chew? And following up on all these new contacts is proving to be daunting as well. This morning was spent in a whirlwind of phone calls. I am realizing more and more that I will need to offload as much of the offloadable ATN work that I possibly can. What I most enjoy and where I think I am the most efficacious is being the “rainmaker” and networking with people. I like to present and I like to network at conferences, although it is very, very draining.


However, I don’t know how to (nor do I really want to) say “No” to a distressed parent who needs to talk. The other day I spent two (unplanned) hours on the phone. If I have “met” a parent through email or bulletin boards or list serves, I don’t feel right referring them to talk to someone else. And the reality is that the information I have gathered in the past decade—how to approach a specific situation or what RTC/therapist might work best or how to address a particular parenting problem—is not something I can easily transfer to another crisis line volunteer. I don’t know what the answer is. I do know that with the strong possibility of another child joining the family, and my need to shift my focus primarily to networking and connecting with folks in the industry, and my looming-in-the-periphery potential burnout … I am going to need to make some adjustments. I am ready to offload as much as I can offload and invest in a specific child—a child in my family—and play a little more, and maybe remember how to sew or craft or read a book ... while still growing the organization.


When I was in vet school, my husband had to take me off campus in order for me to unwind. With my office in my home, there is no lack of opportunity to do more ATN work. I need to figure out how to close up shop when I need some time. Any ideas? How do I walk away from yet another imploding family who needs support?


By the way, today Beth and I took one of her friends and went to the pool. (I called a few contacts from the pool!) After that we went to dinner (my favorite soup and salad bar restaurant), and then Beth and I had a fabulous trail ride on the horses, followed by walking the dogs. So we swam, rode and walked. I'm beat!

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