Thin Skin

It is a sad feeling to see a kid you care about make all the wrong choices.  I know it is okay to have this sad feeling.  But is it okay to be so sad that you have to take a break from work to deal with it?

I am so tired. So very tired. So many kids came and went from the facility; some the right way and some the wrong way.  It is the ones who left the wrong way that make me so sad.  I know there's so much potential and love in them, but their years of pain hardens them.

I tried to be a good example. I tried to lead them.  I fought everyday with some of them.  I encouraged the shit out of them.  I told them they were worth something.  I told them they could do anything.  And sometimes it feels like it wasn't enough.   I could have done something differently.

I tried my best, and that it is all I can do.