04/14/2022
I neglect this page far too much, but today I want to tell you a story about why I do what I do.
This morning a beautiful but somber woman sat at my dining room table, signing documents which I had drafted and which I notarized. Other than the dining room table, this is not particularly out of the ordinary.
Except that she has recently arrived from Ukraine with her three children. Her husband, simultaneously too old and too young to leave, is still there. Though they live in a part of the country which is relatively “safe”, he has gone to Bucha, to the very worst of conditions, to offer aid and support wherever he can. She tells me that the news doesn’t begin to show the devastation and horror he sees.
She rejoins him in a few days and leaves her children here with family, hoping and praying to return, but preparing as if she won’t. As she left, she clasped the papers I prepared in her hands and said, “I hope a court will never need these, but I am glad to have them, just in case.”
She will leave with affairs in order for her children during her absence. I hope this brings her some peace of mind.
My place in her story is insignificant, but her place in mine feels big. While much of what I do professionally can seem unimportant in the grand scheme, sending someone away breathing more easily than when they walked in is a perk of the job that I don’t take for granted. It underscores why I chose the legal profession, and specifically this area of law. I like coming alongside and helping to shoulder burdens that are too heavy for others to bear alone. I like seeing anxiety lifted, hope restored, and grief relieved… maybe even redeemed into something lovely.
This isn’t a sales pitch (I’d be mortified if anyone saw it as such); it’s just an honest testament to why I’m passionate about my work. Whatever you do, I hope you find fulfillment and joy in yours too.
