On the other side

In my last post, you got to see me totally freaked out. I put on a good front and people very rarely see me rattled at work. But damn was I scared as hell.

Before I went to sleep, I talked to my dad and he told me that I was now experiencing what every attorney goes through. He told me that before his first trial, he spent the entire night hanging over the toilet puking his guts up he was so nervous. Then he made me cry, telling me that there's no one he trusts more to handle this case for him.

I fared slightly better than my dad before his first trial last night. By midnight, I had read my entire file. I prepped my argument for the pretrial motions and my direct examination of my client. I decided not to care about the cross of the defendant, hoping that I would never get to the point in the case where I'd need to cross the defendant.

As usually happens when there's something on my mind before bed, I dreamed the case. I conjured up images of conferencing the case with the judge before trial. I saw myself arguing the summary judgment motion. Then I saw myself questioning the witnesses. The damn alarm went off and the images went hazy before I could tell whether I settled the case, the outcome of the motion and - most importantly - the outcome of the damn trial.

But morning came, and despite being nervous as hell, I kissed my boys goodbye and trudged off into battle.

I had 2 attorneys from my dad 's office watching me. I didn't know what kind of example I was going to set for them. And, as we were about to start, my boss cruised into the courtroom, smiling broadly, telling me he was there to watch a great trial. Part of me was surprised to see him, but a larger part of me always knew he'd show up to support me.

My last conscious thought was that I better not screw up my appearance. It's hard working for 2 firms. I really have to concentrate when I introduce myself so I identify the correct office! At that point, I kind of went on autopilot.

But at the end of the day, I emerged victorious. I won my first trial! It felt so good. I rode that high for about an hour before the exhaustion and relief set in, totally wiping me out.

I'm still feeling equal parts excitement and exhaustion. And I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks to all of you for your support. I couldn't ask for better cheerleaders! (Don't you think Otin and Mr. Condescending look cute in their little uniforms???)

While you have nothing better to do this weekend, check out my latest post over at Grow Up Learning. Any parents whose kids are past the vaulting out of the crib stage, I'd LOVE to hear from you over there.