Saturday, February 28, 2009

How to Go to Law School in your 50's


l. Have a career you love end.

2. In therapy try to come up with Plan B. And pray

3.Go to paralegal school.

4.Get hired by a major law firm as a legal assistant.

5.Realize after 6 months you don't really know the law.

6. Have a young associate suggest law school.

7. Go to an orientation for the evening program at nearest law school.

8. Audit a class to see if it is like Paper Chase

9. Notice three students in front of you - one is playing solitaire on his laptop and the other two are IM'ing each other.

10. Decide that you can at least do that much.

11. Keep your plans secret. Except in prayer

11. Study for the LSAT on your own because the classes cost too much. Pray.

12. Take the LSAT. Pray

13. Wait for scores. Still praying

14. Scores are good enough to justify the application fee.

15. Ask for two reference letters.

16. Complete application and struggle with one essay but therapist helps. So does praying

17. Send in application and check.

18. Wait two months for acceptance.

19. Acceptance letter doesn't come when expected.

20. Wait one more day and then call admissions.

21. Name is on the list - accepted! Pray gratitude

22. Wait two more days - still no letter so call again just to verify you heard right.

23. Put away the Peace Corps brochures.

24. Begin floating! And praying.

Beginning of irony


The day I received my parking permit for here (law school garage), I also recieved my membership card for AARP!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

From the Single File - WOW socks


I bought myself a pack of six pair of white crew socks. New white socks always reminds me of the difficult time I had keeping my own socks while raising my three kids.
My first two children are two years apart and then the space between my middle child and my last child is two years and ten months. So they spent much of the growing up involved in the same activities. All three of them played soccer in the spring and base/softball in the summer and eventually came a period where they (and I) could all wear the same size socks. I bought the twelve pack of white long crew socks with the idea that we could each have three pair.
Somehow I never ended up with clean white socks. The ones the kids wore had ground-up dirt from the fields and I didn't especially want to wear those, even after they had been washed in bleach. The next time I bought a twelve pack, I wrote MOM in big, black permanent marker letters on the sole of my three pair. I figured no tween and young teen would want to wear MOM socks. My socks still disappeared! I looked through the laundry, the sock orphanage, and then began to ask if any of the three had my socks. All of them denied it. It was a mystery.
I kept looking and asking but my MOM socks were no where to be found. Until one evening, when we were finally home from the games and the kids were cleaning up. My older daughter was in the shower and my son was on the sofa. He had taken off his shoes, placing them carefully side-by-side in the middle of the living room, and was clicking through the TV channels.
My younger daughter walked through and then called, "Mom, I found your socks." I stepped out of the kitchen to see her pointing to her brother's feet. He had on my MOM socks.
"Why are you wearing my socks?"
"I'm not," he replied with great confidence. "I'm wearing my socks."
"No, you have on my MOM socks."
He looked at his feet and then he said, "I thought it said WOW for being a great player."
He kept the socks.






Friday, February 20, 2009

Steppin'

For the first week of my new diet/lifestyle changes, we weren't to start an exercise regime. After two days, I know why. Drinking the water/oj mixture all day long leads to many trips to the restroom. Just today I've walked over 7000 steps and I know most of those were to go to the restroom!

Someone else taking important steps is the Baby. She took her first steps today. I can't wait to see her.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

New Start



One thing I miss about teaching is the number of times you can start new. There is the traditional New Year's Day but then, if you teach high school kids as I did, there are the start of two new semesters. I probably made more resolutions for the start of the new terms than I did for the new year.

Today I am making another new start. For the first time in my life, I am participating in a weight-loss/redesign your life program. My employer is sponsoring (and paying) for this and I was one of the ones who was accepted into the program. The instructor made a great deal of sense and I really feel that this program will work for me. I would like to lose all the weight that I've gained over the last twenty years and return to a more attractive size and a more active lifestyle.
After all, I have a granddaughter to watch grow!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Baby Love


This little one is ten months old. She is amazing and has already worked miracles in her short life. She has brought family members closer together. The joy she has added to my own life is immeasurable. Being a grandmother to this child is such a gift.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Already behind


Classes started 1/8. I missed two days (3 classes) due to illness and then 3 days (5 classes) to be with my mother following her surgery. This weekend I am playing catch-up. For my writing class, I have to read all of the handouts from the last two weeks plus working on my project so I can talk intelligently about it on Tuesday. Plus reading in my two other classes.

Then as is wont to be, I have social engagements this weekend. I go weeks in between my social activities and then cram them all into one short period. Tomorrow is a brunch with my bridge group and a former member. Tomorrow night I babysit my granddaughter (may sound like a true social engagement but it is one of the best kinds). On Sunday I have church and then a small belated birthday celebration for my son.
Strangely enough, I will get more done with this kind of schedule than if all I had to do was study. I kind of need the adrenaline rush of having too much to do in too short of time. Way more challenging. It makes more aware of how critical it is that I use my time well. When all I have to do is study, I keep thinking I have so much time that I postpone any real work. It is the same way with housework. If that is all I have to do, well, it won't get done. But if I have other work to do then everything gets done.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Hello

I've decided to join the blogging world. I've spent the last several months avidly reading blogs and I think I can do this. Do I think people will find me interesting? Not sure but I know that my life keeps me busy. I'm a fifty-seven law student, former teacher, Methodist, emancipated mother of three grown children, grandmother of one, administrative assistant, daughter, friend, reader, movie-goer, and TV-fan. My life is not what I thought it would be but several years ago a fight with my older daughter rocked my world and then six years ago, my teaching career imploded. Major therapy ensued and finally after years of wanting my life back - of trying to get the new pieces to go into the old puzzle. I realized that what I really wanted was a new puzzle. Since then I have been reinventing my life. Law school helps me filter the burdens from my life. The times when I think I'm going to wake up on the Jerry Springer show come less often. Life is good.