The letter! The letter!

The USPTO's letter finally arrived last Friday. My window period for the exam is going to be between September 9th through December 5th. Today is the 7th and next week I hope to close my first case. As one door closes, the other door reopens. A lot is coming together at the same time. I believe things happen in a certain order for certain reasons. The fact that my application for the exam has been sitting unnoticed on someone's desk for two months has been a blessing in disguised. In that time, I've had the opportunity to manage my first case and accept a part time job teaching legal writing to paralegals. Everything has occurred backwards according to my plans, but the list is still being checked off within the originally planned time frame. Maybe in another year, I'll understand the reason why things happenned in the order that it has.

Meanwhile, Kaolin is turning two years old next Tuesday. I can't believe how proud I am of her. She's not yet two but can already speak in full sentences, has a mind of a precocious teenager, and has fully potty trained herself without anyone's help. Although it remains hard, trying to balance family and work, the fact that I own my schedule and my career entirely is liberating. I think my daughter senses it too. She still attends daycare full time, but that's probably not a bad thing. I see her flourishing socially. When she comes home, she is ready for the next thing and she has my full attention. No computers. No t.v. No cell phone calls. We cook together, eat together, play together, read and sing together, and fall asleep together. It's less time with me, but it's jammed packed full and extra condensed mommy time. Combine this with a full day of socializing, learning and playing, she's really getting double the stimulation most kids get when they're at home with a working parent. It's really impossible to be fair to either your job or your child when you put the two together. Not only are you putting your clients' case at a greater risk for error, your poor child spends the entire day feeling rejected due to your need to work. Talk about developing an inferiority complex and suffering from lack of stimulation. I know how that feels personally. There's no need to put her through it. Things are working out for us so far. I'm thankful.