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...to have a good lawyer

Recovering Lawyer

A long, long time ago (as most fairy tales begin), it was relatively unusual in the United States for women to become lawyers. It was possibly even more unusual for them to give birth during the process, so I was a trend-setter of sorts. Now, women represent about half the students at law school and some places have day-care centers on site. This leads inexorably to one fact about me: chronologically, I am apparently old. I know this because I'm surrounded by women attorneys at the law department which I manage, plus I can now get a special "aging driver" discount on my automobile insurance if I take a course from the AARP. Pretty soon I'll get reduced ticket prices for cultural events, which will be good since I go to a lot of them!

I've had eight years (since I crossed the AARP eligibility threshold, in fact) to think about it, and I've decided that there is simply no reason to spend the next few years eagerly awaiting my opportunity to go to cultural events at the "senior" rate. I want to live a little! But on the other hand, I have about ten more years before I can realistically contemplate retirement -- truly become a recovered lawyer -- and that equally demands that I make the most of my ability to afford respites in interesting locales. There will be plenty of time, I hope, post-retirement, to explore at leisure those places which were too distant (or possibly even those unchallengingly close to home) to draw my attention right now.

Another truth is, I love my work. It is so satisfying to make a difference in people's lives! I have been in public service for many years, and currently enjoy an exceptional position in the capitol of our little city-state. Every step in my career has been great. But I do tend to put a lot into it...

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The Cathedral of St. John

Church Lady

I'm an Episcopalian -- the American branch of the world-wide Anglican communion -- and it would be fair to say that I'm very much involved. Currently, I serve as the Chancellor of the Cathedral of St. John in Providence, having just completed a four-year term as Senior Warden. My role has changed dramatically from day-to-day management to weighing in on legal issues as they arise, thus leaving me free to join the choir once more. I love to sing but during my Warden days it was more important that I be present in the pews; now I can survey the world from the aerie of the choir loft. The Cathedral needs a lot of TLC and a mountain of money to restore the building. More importantly, the people who worship there and those who rely on its social services are part of a kind of extended family.

That's the "big" family. I've also got a relationship with the Society of St. Margaret, an order of Episcopal Religious, whose former Mother House has now been turned into Sen. John Kerry's home. Fun facts to know and tell!

I'm the oldest of three children. My two brothers live out of state, one in New York, solo after a divorce, and the other in Chicago with his family. My parents divorced when we were adults. My father was a psychiatrist; my mother was a professor of political science. They both died in the past five months, and I am still numb.

My ex, a heart surgeon, lives in New Jersey. Although we stayed married for many years, his real wife was medicine. At least he gave me two terrific sons, who are basically grown and gone.

The older son, Edward James Leyland, was named after a famous British racing marque (as well as a grandfather and great-grandfather). After getting a BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania in Japanese Studies, he received another Master's from Columbia and then returned to Penn for law school. He is now a lawyer with a Manhattan firm but works in the Tokyo office. He married his beloved Mishuku, whom he met in Kyoto, in September, 2008.

My younger son, Colin Scott Christian, narrowly avoided being named Enzo (after Ferrari); auto aficionados will know the name of Colin Chapman. After majoring in Black Studies at the University of California - Santa Barbara, he took his M.Phil. from the University of Cape Town. He presently lives in Cape Town, South Africa with his beloved Matipa, who comes from Zimbabwe.

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Trotter, my beardie, as a puppy in Finland

The Menagerie

For many years, the family had golden retrievers. The last of them died of cancer, well before her time. People started to offer me puppies. I don't have a puppy lifestyle, though, and my sons weren't around to help. To stave off the prospect of being an unwilling recipient, I acquired a bearded collie, Trotter, who was already grown and needed a new home. He has been a wonderful dog! He comes to the office with me every day. Thanks to VT, I was able to track down his breeders in Finland, and recevied this wonderful picture.

The family had cats, too. Our standard census is three; presently we have two large males (kind of like my sons!) having recently lost our pretty little tabby female. Somehow every time one of the cats dies, another one appears; the most recent addition was a "Hemingway cat" who showed up in the fall of 2004, shortly after we lost the matriarch cat at age 21. Both initially wary, we established a relationship and I finally decided I'd better get the cat to the vet for shots, etc. before what looked like spring kittens arrived. I was extremely surprised to learn I had a neutered male on my hands, rather than a pregnant female. I guess he was just happy to have regular meals!

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This isn't me, but you get the picture

What do you mean, you have no free time?

So: I manage an office. I help run a cathedral. I maintain a household. I try to stay in touch with my children and even with my friends. I get to the gym. I subscribe to the local theater companies, the symphony, and the ballet. I'm in two book groups. I'm on three boards of directors,
or maybe four.

Sometimes I just have to get away from it all, and that's when I turn to VT. "Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force." (Dorothy L. Sayers)