That’s Some Social Working!

Our team consists of three roles: our team leader, the coordinators, and the support staff. We work in a residential rehab facility. 

I am one of two coordinators. I’m an occupational therapist and the other is a social worker. Then, there is our team leader, and we make up a more clinical role together. All three of us are female. For the record, both my team leader and social worker coordinator are lesbians in happily married relationships. I am single and straight, like that really matters, but it makes for hilarious conversations with clients and staff alike sometimes.

On this day, I and the social worker are explaining to a male client about our partners — or lack thereof. This client has an injury that causes major brain changes and therefore sometimes what he thinks will come out very non-PC.

Client: *To the social worker* “Married yet?” 

Social Worker: “Indeed. Happy relationship.”

Client: “Good fella?”

Social Worker: “Good woman. Keeps me in check!”

Client: “Oh, you’re one of those effing lesbians. It’s wrong. Wrong!” *Looks at me* “And what about you?”

Me: “I’m devoting my life to being a cat lady. It’s too hard to catch a decent man these days. I just am not digging my holes in the ground deep enough to keep them trapped there before we get to marriage.”

The client laughed at this and told me if I didn’t get a man by thirty then I would turn into a lesbian. I’m twenty-five and “not fulfilling my role to have kids.”

I turned to my coworker, who told me all I needed to do was high-five her and I would become pregnant by a lesbian, therefore a woman fulfilling her job for kids.

Not pregnant or a lesbian, but we can continue to await the outcomes.