Glimmer

This story of love and patience and understanding melts even my heart... something to inspire as the new week starts and a new Spring begins.

My New Job Status

The other day I met with a woman who wanted me to represent her son, who is currently being held pending trial, for a misdemeanor assault. She was Greek and didn't speak English; her other son was also in the room and he translated. I asked her all sorts of questions and then she asked me if he could be locked up for good. She was crying as she asked that question. She didn't want him to go to jail; she wanted him to get psychiatric help. Of course the answer to her question was "no" but it really makes me think about a mother's love for her child.

This guy stole from her, pushed her around some, and has put her through a lot of grief while he accrued a long list of arrests. And yet the thought of not being able to see her son reduces her to tears. I'm sure the cynics among us would say that she didn't raise him right, or she's being dramatic. I can't think that way. As much as people in general tend to annoy me, I do see potential in people, a capacity to hope for better things. The day I start hating people in general is the day I will no longer be a proper mother to my girls. It is also the day that I will buy a gun. Just kidding.

And when it came to my fees - the part I hate the most so far about practicing law - the woman pulled out a white envelope and handed me cash, telling me to take care of her son. No pressure there.

Beds we lie on

I got sole custody, physical and legal. I felt sad for my ex afterwards, for the choices he's made in life, or perhaps the dearth of choices he's actually made. He's missed a 7 year old Suz swimming in her first swim meet, winning the championship relay for her age group. He's missed a 5 year old Char crying at her first soccer game because she can't score a goal every time she shoots. He's missed Suz's very first band concert, where she played clarinet in public for the first time and where she looked so grownup, I almost cried. And he's still missing events.

Years down the road, I wonder if he'll even know what he's missed.