I visited a jeweler the other day at a little shop just around the corner from Yoko’s, the sushi restaurant that my husband and I (and, more often than not, my daughter) had frequented every Friday night for 25 years. Just before COVID, the owner had retired (how well-timed that was!) and it had gone downhill to the degree that we had cut back on eating there.
Since the pandemic and lockdown, we have not even tried to go back and, indeed, like so many other eateries, it may have closed by now. However, I had jewelry that I really wanted to remake in time to wear for my daughter’s wedding next month and another jeweler, who could not do the work, had suggested this expert craftsman to me. It was called Gold Palm, which I quite liked, given that the name of my firm is Open Palm.
Find Me Under the Palms
When I walked into the store, a bell sounded in the back, and I was greeted almost immediately by an older man who came out to stand behind the counter. Lo and behold, even with his mask on, I recognized Armando, the guy I had dated when I lived in Washington, D.C. We had broken up 38 years ago, just after I moved to Tampa, not because of my relocation so much as because he had a temper and I had no intention of becoming a victim of domestic violence. When he had put his right hand through the wall during an argument, that had been it. Especially because he had had to put his job on hold while his hand, essential to his craft, had healed.
We chatted about the last 38 years and how he had relocated to Tampa himself shortly after I did. (His connections here were the reason that the state attorney, who had just delivered the eulogy for Armando’s grandfather, offered me a job in the first place.) Apparently, Armando had opened the jewelry store shortly afterward and he also used to eat at Yoko’s fairly regularly, although he tended to have lunch there, rather than dinner. So we had never run into each other.
It’s A Small World After All
It is, indeed, a small, small, small, small world. I love re-connecting with people.
I love re-connecting people with each other, too. Collaborative divorce is about how to re-connect and stay connected, despite getting divorced, for the sake of your children. And for your own sake.
Connection is something that we, as humans, desire and need. Just because you divorced, that does not mean you can completely cut someone out of your life. Perhaps you share children. Perhaps you have a profitable business together. Perhaps her family still adores him. Perhaps her brother is his best friend, after all these years. This is something that we can help you, your partner, and family with. Keeping continuity and a sense of normalcy may be what your children or family need. We offer services to help you with just that.
To see if our services might be right for you, visit us at Open Palm Law or email me at Joryn@OpenPalmLaw.com. We are here for you, and for your family, during whatever change your family is going through!
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Need advice now? Contact Joryn!
About this week’s author, Joryn Jenkins.
Joryn, attorney and Open Palm Founder, began her own firm here in Tampa after a 14-year career in law, two of which she served as a professor of law at Stetson University. She is a recipient of the prestigious A. Sherman Christensen Award, an honor bestowed in the United States Supreme Court upon those who have provided exceptional leadership in the American Inns of Court Movement. For more information on Joryn’s professional experience, take a look at her resume.
