Blog #514: The Impacts of Moving from a Neurodivergent Perspective (Part 2)

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Sometimes when we make a move from one town to another, we tend to forget or take for granted the timing during that move. At one point, during my transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, my mom tearfully suggested that we should just scrap the move and move everything back to Greenbrier.

Naturally, being the forward thinking entrepreneur that I am, I said no because at Going the Distance, we don't go backwards, we go forwards. Now, you might be wondering why I bring this up. Well, because sometimes God has plans for us and will often know well ahead of time of when that moment comes.

Take for example the moment King Herod the Great ordered all baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed in an effort to kill the Baby Jesus. Jesus' earthly father, St. Joseph, was awakened by the sounds of God telling him that he must take his wife St. Mary and the Baby Jesus to Egypt because Herod is seeking to destroy him. In that case, they had no advanced warning and had to pack up and move out at a fast pace. With only a few loaves of bread and the clothes on their back, they fled Bethlehem and headed towards Egypt, remaining there until Herod was dead.

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*Photos belong to NBC 10 WJAR Providence

Now, you might be wondering why I bring up the story of Jesus and his family hastily leaving Bethlehem for this blog. That is because a mere 10 days after I left Greenbrier for the last time, on June 25th, 2025, a 2 alarm fire broke out at my former building. 3 people (a firefighter, a police officer and a resident) were taken to over to Rhode Island Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns.

What's more was that the fire was focused around the area where my old apartment was and it made me go into deep reflection had we stopped the move and I continued living at Greenbrier. The fire tore through the stairwell next to me and some of it even burned through some of the shingles where my DVD shelf was placed. Not to mention also that there was also a lot of smoke damage and tons of water damage from the sprinkler system that was quickly activated.

Of course, had I been there at the time, there was no doubt in my mind that the panic attacks would have gone through the roof not to mention the sights and sounds of the moment would have been playing over and over again from the fire alarm blaring, the sounds of police and fire screaming at me to get out of the apartment as well as the feeling of extreme heat from the fires.

Then, there was also the matter that I could have lost most of my possessions had the fire spread quickly. In other words, my sensory processing disorder would have kicked into overdrive to the point where I could have gone to the hospital as well for mental health reasons. Some possessions that I have are of sentimental value and it would have been devastating had I lost them.

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In fact, part of the reason why I left Greenbrier was because the property wasn't properly managed. People just didn't seem to care and felt they could do whatever they wanted (smoke close to the buildings, leave trash on the ground next to the dumpster and ownership would raise rents every year). In addition, there was also a lot of development and construction going on Route 6 in Seekonk (such as the addition of a TownePlace Suites by Marriott hotel, a Whole Foods and the closure of the Showcase Cinemas to make room for a Market Basket) that would make someone not want to live at a place like Greenbrier, not to mention the traffic which is only going to get worse before it gets better.

Looking back now, I feel as if I was far too good for Greenbrier and that the fire was a sign that I needed to get away and start living in a neighborhood where I'm respected and can talk to the neighbors. Whereas most of the neighbors at Greenbrier weren't really my kind of people to hang around with. Here, I have more space for my items, an office where I conduct business matters related to Going the Distance and also be between Boston and Providence, thus giving me access to their two airports, TF Green and Logan.

Perhaps it's also simply because it was the passing of the years and the end of an era at Greenbrier and living full time in Seekonk for that matter. Seekonk had come a long way from when I lived my entire life. At Going the Distance, change is sometimes the only way for things to grow and Going the Distance is growing more and more.

Perhaps it was fate, maybe it was a sign, but either way, getting out before the fires happened was probably one of the smartest decisions that I made. The fire was also perhaps a sign that the old era was over for Going the Distance and a new era has now begun here in Attleboro.

There are many exciting things happening at Going the Distance that will come in due time, but sometimes giving 7 weeks worth of your time is necessary in order to achieve that goal. The June 25th fire would have sent Going the Distance upside down as well as myself, but it didn't, and that's something that I am deeply grateful for.

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Catch you all later!!