Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I'll have to explain this one later

Last night DOB and I went to a young lawyer's event. It happened to be at a restaurant in the same building where one of the attorneys I work for is. We arrived about 5:45 and DOB started to put his shoes on (he never drives with them on) only to have one of the strings break. Only it didn't break clean--the outer part bunched up and left the tough inner core. He could neither tie his shoes nor pull the lace out to replace with a new one.

Both of us rifled our stuff, but we had nothing sharper than a key, and keys weren't doing it.

Finally I had an idea--I could run upstairs to the attorney's office and borrow scissors. When I got upstairs, the door was locked, but I have a key. So I let myself in. The receptionist had gone, but the legal assistant and the attorney were both in their offices, both on the phone. The legal assistant's desk faced the front desk, so she watched me as I waved, rifled through the receptionist's desk for scissors, and then left.

The shoe string cut, I let myself back in upstairs, where everyone was still on the phone. I put the scissors back and walked out.

D3 Anticipates Adulthood

QOC: So when you are three, you can go in the big potty.

D3: And wear big underwear. And drive in the car by myself with children in the back. And have brown hair.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

D3 Explains Disaster Relief

D3: The people in Japan had all their stuff washed away by a big wave, so we have to give them their washcloths back. At the store.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

'Tis Done

I am a lawyer.

Despite being admitted to the practice of law somewhere for over a decade now, this is the first time I've really tried to be a *lawyer*. Yes, I went to law school. Yes, I passed all those bar exams. Yes, I convinced the board of governors of my own state that their rules gave me permission to apply when they thought otherwise.

But actually practicing? Well, for many reasons, it's never happened. Until now.

And even so, I don't really feel like I'm practicing law. Mostly I sit at home and read and look up and write things; they just happen to be about law. I get interrupted by requests for snacks and toilet paper. I've only worn my suit three times.

Still, it counts. And it feels good. I like being a lawyer for real this time. I like learning from people who have been doing it for longer than I've been talking in sentences. I like that I can do this work and still have the time and presence to take care of my primary job. I'm grateful that I have the ability to do work I enjoy that makes enough to help out.

It's been a long and sometimes overwhelming path to get here. I've had to come to terms with the possibility that nowhere is it written that a good mother must do it all herself. I've had to admit to myself that this is something I actually want. And I've wanted to give it all up many times when it just seemed too big and scary.

Many thanks to DOB for helping me to be more myself. Many thanks to family for providing support and babysitting. Many thanks to the ducklings for being happy and helpful and flexible. Many thanks to two attorneys for taking a chance on training someone who'd never really done this. Many thanks to God for giving me the courage to try.

I'll try to do a good job.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Small Heresy

I am teaching the twins' Sunday School class, a choice that is probably ill-advised because:

a) I am pretty lousy with 2 and 3 year olds.
b) the twins are two-thirds of the class, and
c) they spend most of it fighting over my lap.

However, things are getting a little better, and today we actually had a pretty decent lesson about the Trinity. D4 was coloring a paper with a triangle on it, each point with a label of "Father," "Son," and "Holy Spirit." Then he turned it over and started marking on the back.

"Dis is God da Fadder," he said, pointing to his mark.

"OK," I said, pleased to hear the lesson was taking hold.

He drew another mark: "What's dis?"

"That must be God the Son," I said.

"OK," he said, and drew another mark.

"And there is God the Holy Spirit," I said.

He continued on, making a fourth mark. "What's dat?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said.

"Dat is God da Car!" he exclaimed in triumph.