Ooooh it was 40 degrees today

It was warm today! 40 degrees. I never thought I would consider that to be warm. I saw two people wearing shorts today. AND its supposed to stay like this through the weekend. Lovely.

Today we had more observations in Canandaigua and Palmyra. I met two more of my clients at the palmyra facility. I am so excited to start working with them. We spent most of the afternoon there laughing and having a great time in the session. There are some very colorful, creative, and hilarious people on my caseload. I can't wait.

We did observe our ITD in session today with a number of people that will remain on her caseload. They were all very intense sessions- in different ways. One session in particular really stood out. This client experiences music with his entire body and being. Something about the music and the type of music that our ITD played just moved him. You could see his reactions manifest physically. There's a particular motif that the ITD plays that just reels him into the music and he willingly goes there. Sometimes its too much for him to handle all at once. That's what we were seeing. What he feels inside comes out externally, in his movements, facial expressions, the way he's playing, what he's playing. It was focused and serious and well... intense. I don't know of any other word to describe it all. Its like this client doesn't hold anything back in the music. What comes out is so uniquely apart of him and he reveals that so freely. It was an incredible sight to see.

We took a lovely drive to get from Canandaigua to Palmyra through the back roads and past a bunch of farms covered in snow. It was beautiful. Something about all the scenery here just makes me feel calm and serene but focused and invigorated. It's kind of weird, but also really cool. Its so drastically different from where I've lived before and I like that its been affecting me in different ways than say... the Arizona desert.

Spring semester starts Tuesday at ASU and after talking to a couple of friends, I think I'm really going to start to miss them a lot when they start getting back into classes. I think I'm now just getting around to being able to process this whole graduation thingy and how I won't in fact being in Friday afternoon pre-clinical class listening to case conferences and other miscellaneous speakers. I guess the sassy corner will happen without me. :)

BTW- for those of you interested in a little history. "Canandaigua" means "the chosen spot." In the Native American tradition and lore, the fingerlakes are where hands were laid upon the land and carved out space for the lakes. Canandaigua is said to be the chosen place.... for something. Our ITD didn't go into too much detail. Its a cute town. Most of the towns look the same. I drive through five or six on my way to Newark. If you're looking for more history, in the lovely town of Palmyra- Alice Blazey just celebrated her 100th birthday. There was a banner hanging on the fence of a little park along Rt. 31. My co-intern and I both spotted the banner this week. Unfortunately, yesterday it was taken down and I did not have a chance to get a picture. If I live to be 100, I want a banner AND a parade.

You can read about her here:

http://www.mpnnow.com/features/x1689205790/Alice-Blazey-isnt-just-alive-but-living-life-at-100

She seems sassy-- my kind of lady.

Anyhow. We have MORE observations tomorrow (and for the next few weeks!) plus time built into our schedules to practice and/or get some reading done. I have my first individual supervision with my ITD tomorrow and my co-intern and I have our first group supervision to wrap up the first week!

Even though the days are long, I can tell that this internship is going to fly! Happy Thursday.