One of my flaws (of which there are scores, so figure that this is merely one of a legion) is that my oddly twisted brain has linked giving thanks to (a) an annual tryptophan-induced somnambulation twixt dining table and davenport and (b) the words “so long” and “all the fish”. Neither of which are the noblest of thoughts for this season of reflection.
Yet somewhere between the wisdom of Douglas Adams and that third helping of free-range fowl comes a quiet pause; a moment of deliberate recognition for the wonder of the past year and a time to give thanks for:
- My listserv colleagues – from SoloSez to the MN Bar – who are generous with their time and support.
- That magic moment in every pro bono clinic when that walk-in client transitions from anger/confusion/frustration to the realization that (at least for the duration of this session) they are being heard.
- The matters that pay the bills and the matters that make my mother proud – one day may they be the same.
- The servers, scanners, printers, laptops, tablets, and desktops that keep me and my practice running.
- My virtual staff from my receptionist team who give a voice to my phone system to the woefully underused folks at Legal Typist who put brains behind my voice recognition system (some would call it dictation, but I find that a very scary word with overtones of cigar smoking, flannel suit wearing bosses attempting to seduce nubile, naive secretaries – for the record, I don’t own a flannel suit and I have it on good authority, they are not naive).
- A year of trouble-free software and the pig-headed stubbornness that kept me from throwing over my stable, mature versions for the hot new upgrades.
- The mediations that didn’t go as planned, for they were learning moments.
- The Board meetings that actually kept to the agenda for they are rare things of great beauty and efficiency.
- Those Bar associations, law schools, private and public institutions working to bring lawyers, not just to rural areas, but to any where there is a lack of access to justice. They give me hope that the small town lawyer is not a dying breed even if the “small town” is nothing more than a 10 block neighborhood otherwise lost in a large metropolis.
Now, before I head off to indulge in more food than is strictly prudent before napping through the second half of whatever sporting event appears before me on a Thursday afternoon, I’d like to wish you all a happy and reflective season of giving thanks.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.