Great story and also a great topic of discussion!  Samantha, Health Educator

Hi Shari,

That's a good idea, there's always hope :) I totally understand what that book is saying! Now that I've finished school, I'm trying to work out what's next and I certainly feel confused. The problem is it's too open. I'm so used to having people say this is what you have to do and now it feels like I've been thrown in the deep end with decision making. It's so strange isn't it? How you and I can be on opposite sides of the planet and have entirely different situations, but they're both based on the same concept.

I've heard of stories like that, truly inspirational. Anyone can do it :) The volunteer work sounds great! In the post 'One Thing' which I think Ashley started, I'm sure it was you who said if you could change one thing, it would be to improve your confidence. So do whatever you can to achieve that :)

Kaitie.

I switched my thread, because I'm not done, I'm working on it.  Replacing negative thread titles with positive ones works too :) I'm taking this interim time, before George's possible job lay off at work, to work on myself.  I found a chapter on Empty Nest Syndrome, in one book, and it said, "It's normal to feel lost when we go through a passage, when the old normal disappears and the new normal hasn't arrived.  It's okay to walk around feeling uncomfortable.  It helps us being a little on edge."  It then gives prompts on what to do next, like what Kaitie had said, "What do you want?", "What do you need?", and, "What do you want to do for your second life?", "What would you like to happen next?"  I also identified what my issue is and unfortunately it's co- dependency on my daughter, where I focus on her life, and not my own.  Well, the good news is that I know what the problem is, so I can now change it.  So, that's what I'm working on.  I am doing a workbook and also reading four books on the subject.  I also thought about what Kaitie said about exposure work.  If or when I move back to Florida, to stay with my parents, I thought I could volunteer, or work a couple of hours, not for the money, but to build up my confidence.  I read a story about how a woman who had a great life, became homeless through a tragic series of events.  She lived in a tent and lost her confidence; she used to be a hair stylist.  One day a man offered her a job at his hair salon and she said, "Oh no, I couldn't do that".  Then she spent all of her time replacing negative thoughts with positive one's and prayed all of the time.  Then her mindset began to change.  She thought she could be a sales person and so she applied for a sales job for the holiday season.  After that came to an end, she saw a restaurant and thought she could be a server, so she did that successfully, also.  So, one day she walked up to the doors of the fanciest hair salon in California and told God that she wanted to work there and that she needed His help.  So, she went in and told the owner that she would like to work there.  And, he recognized her, from her working at another hair salon, and he pointed and told her, "There's your chair." So, she was able to eventually have a really nice artsy apartment.  How inspiring!