Month: December 2022

2022 has been a year full of twists and turns for me in my personal and professional lives and there is every indication that next year will only accelerate that pattern. I’ve had a lot of windshield miles over the past two weeks to reflect on some of those turns and my head is still spinning. I’ve closed dozens of transactions this year, worked from five countries, and worked in what feels like most of the world’s time zones. And that’s just in my work life.

I’m not one to set resolutions at the new year. Those only result in frustration and disappointment so I don’t make them. Besides, where I am now is a very different place than where I thought I’d be at this time when I thought about things this January. I don’t want to discourage anyone from making new year’s resolutions. They’ve just never done much for me.

I will do some version of a year-end inventory instead. I’ll look back at the things I most and least enjoyed this year and think about how to maximize and minimize those activities in the year to come. I find that a more productive exercise. I’ll also take the opportunity to discard a number of things, an early spring cleaning. If you’ve never gotten much traction from new year’s resolutions either, maybe you too would benefit from a year-end inventory so that you can be intentional about bringing more joy into your life in 2023. If I have a resolution for my own life, surely that is it.

Immediately following our family Christmas meal, our family sings an out-of-tune rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” We have done so for over two decades now. It was my grandfather’s favorite Christmas song. He never sang it well either, but he did always sing it loudly. That song is a small way he can still be with us even after all these years.

The song is followed by an advent service organized by my mother. She always puts a great deal of effort preparing it, and we appreciate that effort even if we don’t always show it contemporaneously. Then we follow with pieces of strawberry cake (strawberry because I don’t eat chocolate) for dessert. It is one of the only times during the year when I eat cake at all actually. And then we unwrap presents, a much more staid time than it must have been when my brother and I were children. Nothing quite matches the excitement of children when it is time to open presents. I won’t get to witness that this year, but maybe I’ll be able to see some of my favorite little ones shortly thereafter depending on how the weather plays out.

I’m sure each of you who celebrate Christmas has similar traditions of your own. You may even be able to form new traditions this year if life has brought you changes in the past twelve months. As you celebrate, take a moment to appreciate those little traditions. They help keep continuity in life even in the face of incessant change.

I’m (in)famous in my family for buying Christmas gifts at the last minute. It’s become so much of a trope that I almost feel obligated to leave a little shopping until the end just so there can be familiar conversation every year. At least I tell myself that to boost my own spirits; I doubt it has much credence with anyone else. We also celebrate Christmas a week early to simplify logistics, meaning I have even less time in which to purchase gifts. In comparison with most years, I have already made tremendous progress—I am only one-and-a-half gifts short of being finished. That said, the remainder of my purchases will be James David specials as we are past any shipping deadline and I am working on a lot of different things simultaneously.

I take a modicum of pride in the gifts I give, though. In recent years, they have become much more tailored to the recipients. I will never be a gift-giving wizard, but the act of wracking my brain to generate ideas helps me appreciate the people to whom I’m giving the gifts. That may be odd, but for me it’s true. As the rest of you conclude your Christmas shopping, I hope that you experience something similar.

We have always worked in multiple time zones at Barlow & Williams, but there has been an extended project for one of our west coast clients that has taken our nascent firm into uncharted territory in regard to scheduling. It has given me flashbacks to one of the worst elements of my time working at a big law firm, working full workdays in multiple time zones. When I was at the big firm, this meant working all day on tasks for partners based in New York and then at night and in the early morning for partners based in Los Angeles who just assumed that whatever task they sent me would be completed by their morning since I was three hours ahead. It created a dynamic captured by the cliché of burning a candle at both ends. Eventually, I decided enough was enough and I embarked on the path that led me to the crazy professional life I have now.

These few weeks have not been as bad as that period. There have been world cup matches to watch during any afternoon lull (at least part of the matches, anyway) and there have only been a couple of late, late nights. Some of the angst is probably the result of working from home. I only leave my building to go to the gym or to go for a walk, and with daylight hours decreasing it has felt stifling on some days. That is going to change, though, as I’ll be traveling next week for an early family Christmas celebration. For now, I’ll just white knuckle through it and wait for the completion of the end-of-year rush.