Do ever get to the end of a long work day, and wonder what you spent the last 11 hours doing? Do you ever get home at the end of a long work day, and try to decide what you are going to do with what remains of the evening? Or, do you ever just look at the clock, when you walk through the front door, at the end of a long work day and say forget this...I'm doing nothing because that's all I got folks...nothing!
Well, tonight...that is exactly what I got...nothing. After a long day at work, 7:30-6:30, I have less than nothing...no energy and no thoughts are gonna process in my poor little brain. But what I do have are 2 nice fat hours of comp time and I'm already planning on leaving work early on Friday...WOO HOO.... right about now, that really sounds good to me. I'll be getting on a late flight to Boston that evening, so a few extra hours at home before heading to the airport, is just what I need to unwind from work and transition into my weekend away, visiting my baby girl.
Although my late nights at work are far and few between, I'm such a creature of habit, it throws me for a bit of a loop. Not a big deal really, just puts a damper on the remaining hours I'll be awake. Leaving work when it is dark outside is never my idea of fun, and with the recent time change, if I get out anytime after 4:30, the sun will be sinking below the horizon, before I reach my front door.
Gone are the days of slipping away from my desk at 4:30, pulling into my parking spot at home less than 10 minutes later, quickly changing into my bathing suit, and enjoying a few hours at the pool with a good book. The bright yellow sunshine has been replaced by a beautiful red and orange streaked sky, as the suns races to disappear out of view. I love the comfortable evening breezes we have at this time of year, however, the tradeoff of fewer daylight hours is not an acceptable consolation prize for me.
Here is the way a day like today goes down...both my people (that's how we refer to the attorneys we work with) are scheduled to be out for the day....one taking a Plaintiff's deposition a couple hours away...the other prepping witnesses for a 4 day trial which takes place next week, also a couple hours away. So, plain and simply, in addition to my daily workload, I'm back at the office holding down the fort....and putting out fires all day. When they are out, I am their eyes, ears, and often times the voice of reason for anyone who reaches out to them and gets me in their stead. I've worked on all of these cases long enough to understand most of what the legal arguments are, and it's part of my job to know exactly how far we have progressed in the defense or prosecution of each one.
So, every once in a while, just about the time I am usually packing it in for the day, one of my people will roll back in the door and I'll hear those three "magical" (NOT!!!) words, "Can you stay?" and without a seconds hesitation I say the one magical word they always hear "Yes" because that is who I am, and this is what I do. I know for a fact, this is not a job I could have ever given 110% to 12 years ago when I was still raising children, without another adult at home to help out. And although I no longer have those responsibilities, someone may still be on the losing end of a day like today, and unfortunately the only one who lost out was Roger. As usual on his Tuesday afternoon, he waits patiently for me to arrive home so that we can spend some time together before his work week begins, and after my 2nd or 3rd email of "I'm still here" he figured I'd be toast by the time I eventually arrived home....and he was absolutely right...what brain I had left was totally fried.
Me...bed....sleep.....now....BUH-BYE!!!
Flash forward 6 hours....good morning North Palm Beach!!! Okay, I'm awake, it's 3am and here is my mind as usual, revved up and ready to roll. I just re-wrote half of this blog...because with fewer functioning brain cells, I make less sense than usual, and for anyone reading this, that may just be a bit too scary. Hopefully now, at least some of it is recognizable without more babbling than my normal quota for the day, or morning, or whatever time it is. I think I'm already writing in circles, no biggie....you should be quite accustomed to it by now.
I realized that I've pummeled you with 3 days in a row of titles that have some sort of twisted numerical value...for someone who sucks the proverbial big one when it comes to math....I think that's kinda funny...I crack me up!!! Well at least someone is laughing...and that my friends is how my evening last night actually ended. Both of us giggling while Roger watched me stumble into bed, and even when I feel like I'm running on empty...my husband thinks my nothing is really something...thanks honey, I love you too :)
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