Month: October 2023

Long walks have been a part of my life for many years now. I started taking them in law school to break the rhythm of studying for hours and hours. I walked a lot of miles through the back streets of Cambridge and to, from, up, and down the Charles. Then chronologically there have been walking tracks, city blocks, rail trails, and lakefront parks. Now most of my walks are around the perimeter of a college campus.

On Sunday, though, I journeyed about fifteen minutes’ drive to a state park to walk a gravel and rock track along a river. Fall has finally arrived and I wanted to get away from the sounds of cars and traffic and into a place where I could hear wind through trees and some flowing water. The leaves aren’t quite at their peak brilliance yet here, but there is some color already and that offered a nice visual bonus when I wasn’t looking at the ground to plot my steps across the uneven surfaces. I chose a loop trail that was about 2.5 miles, nothing crazy. There was more elevation than I’d anticipated and overall it’s probably not a trail I’ll repeat any time soon as there are several others to try in the same park but it was still a pleasant walk. Also, there were so many turtles sitting on logs in the river. It was a deja vu of sorts after going to the sea turtle rescue center a couple of weeks ago with the little ones while we were at the beach. 

I couldn’t linger as long as I’d hoped as there was some added distance between the trailhead and the parking lot that I had to traverse and I needed to get back so that I could finally have a few guests in my apartment now that it’s fully furnished. Really, this just meant following a toddler around. It was clear that I’ve not set up this apartment for little ones, but everyone enjoyed themselves anyway.

Last week was fall break for lots of schools. My schedule is not normally dictated by the school calendar, but I went to the beach to meet some family who were taking advantage of their children’s fall break. I never had a full week for fall break when I was in school, but it would have allowed for trips like this one so I wish we had.

Work continued in a more-or-less normal fashion, albeit with a few zoom-bombing interruptions from little ones who just wanted me to finish whatever meeting was ongoing in order to get back to spending time with them. During more prolonged bouts of work, I stayed behind while everyone else went to the beach or to go shopping. These periods were either in the late morning or early afternoon so I was able to eat almost every meal with others and was able to go to the park with the older kids to talk to them while they were on the swings. I also didn’t have to miss any of the trips to get ice cream that I enjoyed almost as much as the children did.

It was impossible to get any attention from the youngest one where mom or mamaw was around. And even if they weren’t it still wasn’t easy as he grabbed whatever screen was available and made his way to watch one of several children’s programs I hadn’t seen before last week.

The best part of the week was being around little ones for whom work from adults is just a temporary distraction from the serious activity of having fun with whatever game they are then playing. It was such a refreshing environment after what has been, with the exception of the previous week in Las Vegas, a slower period of work that has brought a few frustrations. Well, at least it was refreshing while no one was throwing a fit because they wanted to watch Bluey or play a game on an iPad. I was also able to commission some new watercolors for my refrigerator, one a rainbow and the other an apple tree. The exact subjects I would have chosen? Probably not, but I still see them a few times a day now and get to think about the time I get to spend with my favorite little people.

I attended my second Rhodium event last week. This meant another trip to Las Vegas. Once again, the trip was bereft of gambling and shows and only saw mixed results in trying new restaurants. Perhaps by next year I’ll feel secure enough to treat myself to a blowout experience or two but that wasn’t on the cards for this year.

It was a different experience this year. There were times when I knew I belonged. I had seen most of the people before even if I hadn’t talked to them previously. I knew how the sessions would flow and was more deliberate about the roundtables I attended. I was part of a bonus session at the start that I’d been unable to attend the year prior, a session for a smaller group that holds more regular meetings that I’ll be more involved in during the coming year. Throughout the conference, I spent as much time reconnecting with people I already knew as meeting new people (the former being a much easier task given my temperament).  

Then there were times where I still felt like an outsider. Some of these stemmed from my energy management strategies of walking off or sitting by myself for a few minutes to recharge, deliberate moments of physical separation. These weren’t an obstacle; they were planned. More telling, though, were the moments when I was reminded that this is a conference full of operators and I’m a service provider. They may be my clients but I’m not exactly one of them, not yet anyway. That may only be a subjective difference but that doesn’t make it any less real. I don’t know if this difference can be bridged. A law firm is a different business than those operated by the other attendees and any strategic or tactical insights have to be translated into our specific context. There’s no problem with this. It is just a reality to navigate.

I met up with friends on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday last weekend. Sure there are the necessary caveats that Saturday and Sunday involved the same people and none of these people are new friends, but so be it. It was the sort of weekend I’ve not had in a long time. There was a new brewery and restaurant to try on Friday. Then I continued to assist people get settled into a new place on Saturday and met them again for a food truck festival on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t the healthiest weekend I’ve ever had, but I did eat a wide variety of foods.

I still haven’t hosted anyone at my apartment after I’ve completed furnishing it. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I offered on both Friday and Sunday. It just hasn’t worked out yet. Maybe that will come in a few weeks once I finish the current round of traveling I’m doing. It showcases me more than any of my prior residences, taxidermy included, and is more comfortable than the constant change in backdrop that marked my life through the late spring and most of summer.

I don’t consider last weekend to be a final iteration by any means, but it was a step in the right direction, a good start that I’ll build on in the weeks and months to come.