Illness, death and taxes -- that is the concise response to the question "what type of law do you practice?" And when you spend your days focused on what will happen when people are too sick to sign tax forms or die suddenly of a blood clot, it is not too much of a jump for your mind to ponder your own demise. And that can make you feel a bit odd because most people can't see the scenarios my mind churns out on a daily basis. It is what I am trained to do, it it what clients pay me to think about. And it was with comfort when I read an op-ed in the NY Times and the writer (not a lawyer) made mention to thinking about his own death bed....I'm not alone!
I suppose it's possible I'll lie on my deathbed regretting that I didn't work harder and say everything I had to say, but I think what I'll really wish is that I could have one more beer with Chris, another long talk with Megan, one last good hard laugh with Boyd. Life is too short to be busy." - Tim Kreider, The Busy Trap, NY Times, June 30, 2012
And it is this same line of thinking is at the core of my motivation to practice law part-time. Life it too short. The brevity of life, and knowing it is brief, focuses my attention and is why I balance my role as mother against my role as lawyer. Many days I go from one hat to the other in 0.2 seconds. Break neck change of pass can be tiring, but it is worth it. Life is too short not to maximize being with my kids, and will pass too quickly for me not to use the legal education I fought so hard to earn.
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