Five Feet Away: Finding Joy, By Putting a Little Distance From the Anger.

~ Laura

This week, my chores for Ian included one-hour zoom call with Ian’s teachers for a progress report, one hour writing up the notes on that meeting, and a one-hour phone call with a transition advisor, whom I’ll call Sara for this newsletter. Sara is a therapist for parents of special needs children, who helps guide parents through the difficult transition process. Our lawyer suggested that I reach out to Sara to see if she knew of programs in New Jersey that would be more appropriate for Ian. 

Sara pointed me to a private college program and also told me to start the next level of paperwork to get access to state services. Overwhelmed for a minute, I said, “is this going to be my life? I have been thinking about making some career changes. Can I go back to the office and work full time?”

Read more at my newsletter, The Great Leap

Published by Laura

10 thoughts on “Five Feet Away: Finding Joy, By Putting a Little Distance From the Anger.”

  1. You do always seem to find the joy and some people are better at that than others and everyone around them benefits. I’m glad you have a Sarah to talk to.

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  3. Honestly, I think everyone is feeling a bit overwhelmed (though, “We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat” is important to remember). I feel like my network is full of people who are reading and listening to advice on how to find joy. So managing it is an accomplishment.

    Maybe I’m weird, but I do want to see stories of people who are thriving. Don’t really feel like the people touring in Paris on my FB feed are, but maybe I’m imposing my own unsettled feelings on them. So I celebrate everyone finding joy.

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    1. bj said, “Maybe I’m weird, but I do want to see stories of people who are thriving. Don’t really feel like the people touring in Paris on my FB feed are, but maybe I’m imposing my own unsettled feelings on them. So I celebrate everyone finding joy.”

      I’m actually plotting a solo trip to Malaysia.

      Sounds a bit random, yes? But my last set of Russian friends in Russia just got out, and they’ve moved to Malaysia. So I want to go.

      I’ve been googling, and getting really excited about noodles.

      Of course, they may want to meet us in Hawaii instead, but I’ve never been to Hawaii, so that’s interesting, too!

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    2. Very fun bit of randomness! I want you to do it and write all about it. Hawaii is beautiful but Malaysia would be very interesting. And I am guessing you are owed a solo trip. I’ve been scoping out solo trips where I take a flower arranging or photography class. The photography classes can be physically challenging (night time hikes to arrive at prime locations).

      My kiddo said that the college students she knows who are making plans for next year seem to be following the philosophy that they will pick a city to live in and then find a job that will let them work from there (remotely). Another friend works for tik tok in Singapore and said that when her sister was thinking of being in Hong Kong that she might just spend the next year there. I said part of what’s happening is people are planning in shorter term chunks.

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    1. Ann said, “Meet in Bali – and have a wonderful tropical vacation at a luxury spa!”

      That is also an idea!

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