End of Counseling Sessions

For the past several weeks, I've been seeing, free of charge, a counselor at the place where I work. Yesterday, my birthday, was my last day. Not because I didn't want it to go longer, but because the help these counselors provide has to be short-term. But I'm grateful for the time I had with Laura, an MFC trainee. I think she is very good and has a promising career ahead of her.

I can't honestly say, at this point, the same of myself. Yet, I feel a little less hopeless--or should I say I feel more hopeful?--about my own career and broader life prospects than I did before my first weekly session with Laura eight weeks ago.

I now believe that I can build and tap into a network of resources that can truly help me over or through the inevitable rough spots. Yes, there's a lot that I haven't been doing to help myself. Nobody else can do those things for me. But there are caring and skilled people out there able and willing to help me help myself, and they don't always charge a proverbial arm-and-a-leg for it.

As I said, but which bears repeating, I'm grateful for this. I'm both glad and sad that I had to say goodbye to Laura when I did. But I'm mostly glad that I had the opportunity to say it at all.