Lori’s determination continues to impress me. I was prepared to launch my effort on increasing her freelance income and during our discussion this week she tells me of not one, but two job interviews she has scheduled during these next two weeks. Good work, Lori!

I have been thinking of what to focus on with Lori while we wait for a response on her school application. The obvious choice is finding a job. I believe she is already working all the traditional channels, but I am fairly sure Lori would jump at a full time job that was more challenging than the reception/administrative type work she has been doing.

And while Lori has not said this, I do think it is really hard to put yourself 100% behind a job search when you are also pursuing an alternative that might make that effort less valuable, or at least unfocused.

So instead, Lori and I will discuss a plan for doing more social-professional networking & marketing for her freelance business.

I believe the greatest risk Lori faces right now is becoming discouraged, losing focus, and not having the energy to be there for her kids and for herself. So, I am focusing our attention and activities on shorter-term objectives aimed at getting us through these next couple of months.

Now that Lori has been laid off, she'll be applying for unemployment, with even less money coming in. She doesn't have any cash reserve built up, so at our meeting next week we'll have to get good handle on all her expenses and income as well as the timing of both -- we don't want Lori to run out of cash during the month.

I'm interested in learning more about Lori's desire to go back to school – the program itself as well as practical aspects like how long it takes to complete it, the opportunity for work-study or interning that might lead directly to full time employment, and the marketability of her degree. I'm concerned about the expense. We should explore every opportunity for grants and loans -- information we can get the school's student loan office -- but Lori may also want to talk to an expert in student financial aid, particularly for graduate degree programs.

I like the idea of Lori going back to school, but I hope it was not primarily a reaction to not getting the job offer.