Accosted on the Street

I am an attorney and belong to a Young Lawyer's group in my city. We have lunches once a month at a very nice restraunt downtown where we also have the opportunity to listen to a presentation that fulfills our required continuing legal education. I have been in charge of these luncheons for the last year and it really involves very little preparation. Nonetheless, I am usually the first and the last person there. I pay the check after everyone has left and then happily walk back to my downtown office to continue billing. Yesterday, however, was a little more eventful.

Yesterday, the lunch went off without a hitch as we learned about the riveting topic of no evidence motions for summary judgment. I was, as usual, the last person in the room paying the bill when one of the associates at my firm came up to sign the sign-in sheet and offered to wait for me. At first I said that he shouldn't wait, but then I decided I was nearly done so I took off with him. I can't tell you how glad I am that he waited.

As we were walking back to our office, chatting amiably about motions for summary judgment, a man who I have never seen before walked by me and said the most offensive things to me. I didn't touch him, bump him or even look at him until after I figured out he was talking to me. He started out by calling me the "c" word along with other foul and disgusting things. I looked at him in shock and said, "Wow, thank you." And we walked off in shock, but the true extent of our shock was yet to come. As we walked off the foul man continued to yell at me calling me all the foul things you can think of. We ingnored him, of course, and then he started to follow us continuing to shout at the top of his lungs all the horrible things he thought of me. My friend pulled out his cell phone and began to call the police, and then the foul man began to yell obsenities at my friend saying, "Go ahead, you ___, call the police!" My friend turned around and told the guy to leave me alone, but he just continued to keep shouting. Meanwhile, all the people on the street were staring and some had also called the police. Finally, after about three blocks of this my friend turned around again and told the guy to just go away, and the foul guy said, "Come on, ___, you want to fight me?!" Then two other guys ran up to us to help us and the foul guy ran away. I started shaking at that point. The guys had also called the police and they walked with us back to my building. We found some mounted police and told them about it. The caught the guy, but later that evening I saw him back on the street. I was pretty shaken up, but I guess all's well that ends well, right?

Valentine's Day Foibles

Valentine's Day was an out of the ordinary day for this professional mother. Husband and I went to dinner at a nearby steakhouse. We, of course, enjoyed it very much. It was quiet and the food was good. The wine was very nice as well. I drank most of the bottle while Eddie drank a scotch. It was only 8:30 when we finished eating so we decided to go to the Club for another drink. It sounds fancy, but it isn't. Picture Mr. and Mrs. Howell's long lost pig farming relatives in a medium sized city club. We love it, but the Manhattan big wigs may not. Anyhow, we end up drinking with a friend of my husbands. Three glasses of wine later, I'm feeling ready to go have some more drinks. Plus, the Club is closing down since most of the Mr. and Mrs. Howell's are back home snug in their beds by midnight. So, while Eddie is freshening up in the bathroom, I meet some men who are waiting in the lobby for the elevator and I decide we should all go to Fox and the Hound for another round of drinks. Clearly, I am intoxicated and not thinking lucid thoughts since I had to go to work the next morning. Instead, we enter the empty bar and proceed to order beers all around. By this time, I am not at all fit to drive. Just so you know, I didn't drive. Back the the story, we had a lovely time at the bar with Steve and Jeff, who had me convinced that they were traveling businessmen who keep girlfriends in my town. Now, they are businessmen but they don't keep girlfriends. I received a call from Jeff the next day - sweet guy. He was calling to see how I was feeling. Well, let me tell you I was not feeling so hot the next day, but I had appointments to keep so I was up at 7:45 to meet the repair man downstairs with my kids in tow. What a lovely way to start a day - exhausted with a headache. Lucky me. It was certainly a Valentine's Day to remember . . . if only I could remember all of it.

Meanwhile, my friend who is nearly 6 months pregnant finished her Valentine's Day dinner at 8:30 p.m. and was at home and asleep by 9:00 p.m. Needless to say, her work product was much better than mine the next day.

Second day in, and I woke up late (as usual, so really I woke up on time). My husband takes care of pretty much everything in the morning. He wakes up first, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, and then while he is swishing mouthwash he comes into the bedroom and wiggles my foot as I continue to snooze in our wonderfully comfortable flannel sheets. I love to sleep, so it takes me a while to overcome the urge to remain in bed for as long as possible. I crawled out of bed pretty quickly this morning, however, and showered and dressed while he got the kids out of bed. Baby girl is first and Eddie squeezed her into a sweatsuit that is nearly too small for her. Then Eddie pulls our son out of bed and dresses him in a lumberjack outfit. I'm not sure what the appeal is, but he looks like a little lumberjack or construction worker. Our son is obsessed with construction, so perhaps the outfit is actually appropriate.

My son's construction and train facination has led me to pointing out manlifts, excavators, bulldozers, locomotives, and trains all around town. I am learning the difference between a trackhoe and a backhoe, although I promise my spelling will always flounder in that area. It is a pleasure to be considered so knowledgeable in an area that I know so little about. But my son believes I can tell him what everything on a construction site is as well as what the construction workers are doing. I'm doing my best to learn and tell him correctly, but come on . . . it is construction after all, and I was an English/History major with focus on literary analysis . . . what do I know about tying rebar?

Just a Beginning

I am drawing my inspiration for this blog from a co-worker's daughter who writes almost daily about her daughter who was born premature. What a wonderful way to share your thoughts and views on the world. It is a narrow window to an individual point of view that can't be duplicated. I love the idea that anyone or no one may be reading this.

I, myself, am a mother of two. My son will turn 3 on April 12 and my daughter will be two on September 21. They are my life and my inspiration, but first came love. Eddie was my first love, always and forever. Luckily, I still have him to lean on as we venture through the world of parenthood. And truly it is a whole new world.

I love every moment, but it is definitley a hands-on learning experience. Some days I have no idea what I'm doing and I look back on the entire day to determine if I accomplished anything other than filling my son's brain full of Dora the Explorer so that he will subconsiously be attracted to hispanic women as an adult. (Obviously, not on purpose . . . but I have to admit that I am partial to men in bowties so maybe Captain Kangaroo stuck).

To be quite frank, however, most days I only spend a few hours with my children because I am a full-time attorney. I see the babies when I take them to school and then when I get home around 7:00. They go to bed around 8:30, so it is a short day as a parent to say the least. I believe that these hours are more precious to me than when I spend an entire day with the kids. I de-stress by losing myself in their screams of "Mommy!!!" and the first hug when I come in the door. That is, perhaps, my favorite time of day. There is nothing like the love of a child.