We have a lawyer in our family!Let me introduce you to my brother, Ryan. He graduated with his law degree last Saturday and is set to take the bar in August and he has a job lined up already. Assuming he passes the bar (which I know he will) he starts his job at a law firm in downtown Indianapolis this fall.
I couldn't be prouder!
If you would have told me 25 years ago that he would be a lawyer, I would have laughed. This was the kid who couldn't sit still to save his life. I am pretty sure he could have been diagnosed with ADHD. This was the kid who drove me and my friends crazy (don't believe me...really...just ask them). He had no idea what personal space meant. This was the kid who I remember having to hang upside down so he would spit out whatever he was choking on. This was the kid that schoolwork didn't always come easy to. I can remember my mom and I working with him for hours on what a "quarter till" and "quarter after" meant.
Many things changed as he got older. He took all that energy and became a soccer star in HS and College. He became a great student, graduating from Butler with a double major and speaking Spanish fluently. He worked for a couple of years in community development and then decided to become a lawyer, working in immigration so that he could give a voice to those who don't have one.
I couldn't be prouder.
My brother and I are 9 years apart and there were many times in my life that I felt like a second mother to him. When we were younger that feeling was more of an annoyance. As time has passed it has turned into a feeling of joy and pride. 5 years ago that title of "second mother" came full circle when our mother passed away. The feelings we experienced during that time can't be put into words, but we went through it together and came out on the other side even closer.
So as I stood at Ryan's graduation last weekend it was a bittersweet moment. I was so proud of him and his accomplishments, but I was so sad that our mom was not there to celebrate with us. She would have been so proud of him! I told Ryan I wished she had been there with us. It was a moment we shared and I will never forget it.
We have a lawyer in the family and this sister - aka second mother - couldn't be prouder!!!
