Time to Reflect: Step 103

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I'M BLOGGING IN
NEW YORK CITY

Shakespeare said, "It is a wise father that knows his own child." Certainly, I would like nothing better than to be wise, however the reality is my child probably knows me better than I know myself. Having three daughters, all of whom I can say I am extremely proud, in no way lessens the pleasure and pride I feel as I get ready to celebrate my middle daughter, Heather's graduation from law school.

Over the course of the past week I have had a lot on my mind as I attempted to keep up my writing, continue my search for employment, work on a business plan to market my blog and at least poke my head out of the study to socialize with my daughters, Sandra the lovely young woman who accompanied Heather as she drove back to California, and of course my darling partner and wife, Debbie.

With all the uncertainty surrounding the world of work it is only natural for a young person, especially one who has incurred the sizable debt that comes with attending law school for three years, a father can easily recognize how flying back across the country to attend a ceremony is not her greatest desire. Add to the cost of the trip the fact she will miss two days of a bar preparation class with a price tag in the thousands of dollars, and the same father has to question his sanity when deciding to make the trip.

Yet, as a father I know there are a limited number of occasions to which one can attribute a time honored value and one is the culmination of a significant accomplishment. Not only has Heather finished law school in the usual three year term, but she does it immediately following completion of her undergraduate program in only three years. So, only six years out of high school and more than a month prior to her twenty-fourth bithday my little girl becomes a lawyer.

True, she has to pass the bar to practice law in the state of her choosing, but the only celebration that will accompany that achievement, and as her father I have strong faith she will accomplish it in the near future, will be her own and quite possibly her employer.

In the meantime, let me state that if my years have taught me anything it is the memory of certain events need to be shared, and are best shared with those you love. So, despite the economic hardship imposed by flying to New York and spending Memorial Day weekend there, my hope is her recognition at the Lincoln Center by the Touro Law School will take greater significance long into the future because her brother-in-law, sisters, mother, father, and eighty-two year old grandmother were there with her.