When I started law school two years ago, I imagined my third year winter something like this: Me, in a jaunty hat-scarf combo, confidently striding through the tunnels, a veteran of Boston winters and end-of-semester stress. I'd have a grudging love for the wind and snow, fantastic outlines finished or stolen, and best of all, a public interest fellowship in hand, and the knowledge that I was coasting to my future as a Leader of Tomorrow.
How it's actually going: I think I strained my thigh muscles walking up the steps to my apartment on Tuesday. I can't stride. I can only waddle.
This is how things turn out when you end the semester eight months pregnant. At this pace, shuffling heavily through the tunnels, stopping every ten minutes to go to the bathroom, I'm getting a good bit of perspective.
I brought this condition on myself, so I can't complain too much. Last year my husband and I decided that we really wanted to start a family, and not in that way where you've "established your careers," but now you're 40 and trekking to the fertility doctor. During law school seemed doable. So, being an obsessive planner, I decided that if we hit the right number on the roulette wheel and gave birth in January 2008, I could finish Fall finals before going into labor, take off Winter Term, set up an easy and evening-centered spring schedule, and graduate on time. I assured everyone in my family that I realized this was not actually going to work out.
The day after my spring Constitutional Law final (which included an enjoyable couple hours writing about state bans on "sexual aids"), I peed on several sticks and hollered at the results: we'd come up winners. January it was.
The pregnancy-law school combo seemed like a breeze at first: The Dean of Students has a person to handle accommodations! The school put in a nursing and pumping room! Empire waist tops were back in! At fall registration, people giggled and tried to figure out if it was appropriate to bring up the Bump. I finagled aisle seats in every class for my bathroom pilgrimages. I enjoyed answering the people who asked, "So you're taking off the spring semester, right?" with, "No, I'm graduating on time." All the way through early November, I was feeling great and probably a bit too pleased with myself for how I was handling things.
Then it all hit at once: The third trimester. Impending finals I was NOT prepared for. And just before Thanksgiving, the snow. I got tired, stressed, and cold really fast. Also, people started buying me pink baby onesies and asking if I had chosen a pediatrician and entire parenting philosophy. Um. Babies like when you feed and change them, right?
All you can do is take care of yourself. When I should be trying to learn administrative law, but I'm exhausted, I sleep. When I'm late for class, but I'm frozen and sore, I don't run. When I have a backup of emails complaining about how the Record is factually inaccurate, gossipy, or not gossipy enough, I delete them all. (Just kidding. Your criticism warms my heart!) And even though most of you do not have a large fetus putting her feet in your ribcage at this very second, I'd advise you do to the same. Sleep, eat, leave the tweaking of your resume and outline margins for another day. Read People magazine, wrap a present for a kid, and sleep some more. It all works out. I never have gotten used to the winters, and my outlines look like homely Charlie Brown Christmas trees, but last week I accepted that public interest fellowship I always hoped I'd get - one that never even asked me for a transcript. I might get a bunch of Bs this term - in fact, I'll be shocked if I don't - but I'm getting my dream job and a much-wanted baby girl, and that seems just a little bit better than cum laude at graduation. You'll get what you want, too - the trick at this school is not whether Santa Harvard will bring you your wishes, but deciding what to write on your list in the first place. I wish you a smooth finals period and a wonderful holiday season and New Year - and hope that in the next few weeks, all of you will take a minute to slow your stride and smell the Boston snow.
And give a pregnant woman your seat on the T. I mean, really.
Andrea Saenz is Editor-in-Chief of the Record, and is gratefully accepting your good wishes, non-pink baby onesies, and administrative law outlines.
My wife's father is hessaby as in www.hessaby.com (they stole his cash and put it there) and my mother-in-law family is related by marriage tot the Pakravans., who headed the SAVAKPan Am was nicknamed PanIran as the Shah's family was the largest shareholder. I have extreme amount of details of exactly was going on
from the Iranians wanting him to return their assets to other coup attempts to 6 months before the Shah son pretended he was bankrupt in a public trial, to my wifes relative coming to our house talking about the coup and we did not know they were in Washington DC, to the Iran Contra hearings trial that was going to start Feb 20 th, 1989 to the tipping of the coup to the Iranian govt, ,to something in writing I can prove the coup to the Salamon Rushtie Feb 14th insult to islam to get the people on the street to avoid the coup to the Iranian govt announcement of a coup by 'dissent mullahs' announced at the time to the negiotations between the Bush people involved pretending they were going to make a deal to the 'nice' stories plant in US newspapers at the time (including the Post) as part of the negotation to the fact the bomb had to placed out of London based on the flight path as I worked at USAir at the time creating the flight plans for the 'planes to fly themselves' to overt CIA agents around me at the time to the fact that Bollier, the guy who made the timer for the bomb's wide was IRANIAN and the Libyans told me and said they were not allowed to say... there were 3 witness only.. the main one was trashed.. Bollier and a guy whom said he soldm the Libyan a suitcase in Malta.. hence, one the suitcase guy would be left.. the Libyans did not put up a defence in exchange for evidence to trash the main witness on the stand to what an overt CIA agent told me in the US 4 years later.. etc. etc and the details of several coups to the new World bank (my wie's cousin involved who used to work at the work bank)and US loans starting May 1990 to Iran to the fact that PANAm was shut down 18 months later as they thought it would be targeted again because of the Shah connection (the US airlines go in and out of bankruptcy all the time - this was the one of the first US airlines - an ICON) etc
I also know where the Iranian govt officials have money in the US, Canada and UK; the back door dealing etccall me for details.. Barry Lanza 00 44 1786831554.. My father-in-law was a convicted spy given amnesty