I don’t know if I’m actually feeling better today or if I’m just distracted by the shitloads of work I need to get done before Christmas. I may have mentioned this already, but my firm returned me to full-time status as of November 1st, so I just completed my first month back at work at 100%. In addition to catching up on the caseload that I’ve carried throughout my treatment, I have an arbitration on December 11th and I just got assigned a large construction defect case that requires oodles of paperwork to go out the first two weeks of December. Clearly, the partners in my firm are ready to put me back to work.
Honestly, I welcome the distraction at work and the challenge of trying to manage my new lifestyle with the requirements of my job at full-time capacity. Although I’m still very aware that a high-stress job is not in my best interests, I’m not ready to write off being an attorney. I had several conference calls today on my “hot and heavy” cases in active litigation and I realized how much I enjoy being an attorney. I love strategizing, keeping my cool amongst a bunch of adversarial pricks, obtaining fantastic results for difficult clients, and establishing an ethical practice where other attorneys know exactly where they stand with me at all times. I want to make every effort to succeed at my job with my current billable requirements without sacrificing the changes I’ve made regarding exercise and diet, but I wonder if it’s possible to be in such a deadline-driven job without putting my health at risk. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but I sure as hell am going to try. For right now, I’m moving forward, keeping my eyes straight ahead, and praying that I’m able to make this work.
