This year, I've really kicked it up a notch at work. Last year, I took a lot of time off while I was in the hospital, recovering, and in physical therapy. The partners at my law firm were very good to me--they paid me for a lot of my time off instead of making me ultilize the Family and Medical Leave Act which is unpaid, and then, even when I came back full time, they let me take another 3 weeks off (unpaid) to visit my parents in December over the Christmas break.
But this year, I wanted to show the firm that I'm back, I'm capable, and they were right to give me some time off. So each month in 2008 I've billed more hours than I'm used to, partly because of a weird desire within me to earn my keep and partly because I'm working for a great partner who actually lets me do associate type work even though technically I'm a staff attorney. So instead of doing privilege logs and document review, I've been preparing clients for depositions, defending and taking depositions, writing motions, and helping formulate the strategy of the case. Exciting work, great for my career development (which has kind of been on hold since Boo Boo was born), and even though I'm doing some of this stuff for the first time, and not perfectly, I'm learning by doing it. But it does make it more difficult to juggle home life.
The case is pending in Travis County, so at least once a week I leave my house at 5:30 AM, drive to Austin in time for 8 am meetings, and then drive home that night. Makes for a long day. Last week, I also flew to Dallas overnight for a deposition. It's set for trial in September. Maybe it will settle before then. Sometimes I want it to, and sometimes I don't.
