Bah Humbug
The holiday season is a strange one for the legal practitioner. This is because it is unfortunately NOT the most wonderful time of the year for many people. So often, due to the holiday time off, people are apt to attend to those “issues” or perceived issues they have… with others. There is nothing like the holiday season to rustle up feelings of contempt and reminding oneself: “Oh, I remember now, I hate you and you owe me some goddamn money.” Or those feelings of vindictiveness that for some reason we want to act upon during this time of year. All of those things tend to wind up in the lawyer’s lap during the holiday season.
When I was in the District Attorney’s office, it seemed like right after Thanksgiving, the most outrageous things would occur, and people were just totally out of control. I mean totally abandoning all logic. There was a certain desperation that we could all feel resonate from the people with whom we continued to interact. I guess it makes sense. I once opined about the holiday season with a colleague who had a psychological educational background and they replied poignantly that the holiday season can bring a lot of stress and reality to many of us. It is a time that is heralded as one for family, friends and togetherness in one big fuzzy ball. But for those of us that have lived their lives or been subject to one that doesn’t provide that at the end of the year, it can feel lonely and isolating. So then what better idea than to call a lawyer to help you bury all those old hatchets, no?
Well, how are we as practitioners supposed to take this? On the one hand, some of us may see it as manna from heaven and invite those clients who are feeling pretty low to spend money with us in the pursuit of unhealthy grievances. This is our business, no? We earn a fee for such litigious pursuits. However, on the other side of the coin, it can feel tiring and quite frankly, Grinch-like. Isn’t this the season to TRY and get along? Bullshit. ‘Tis the season to double down on unreasonable positions and harass the hell out of anyone who, for some reason, is happier than you are.
But no one says we as the attorneys have to join that dysfunctional party this time of year. We have all worked hard all year round. We all deserve to be jolly and ring in the New Year with gratitude and hope, don’t we? But how, despite the seasonal woes of the work, can we as practitioners get into the holiday spirit? I have a few ideas:
Decorate the Office
Nothing says the holiday spirit more than some festive digs. Invest in a wreath, a menorah or a little tree with some tinsel. Changing one’s scenery can do wonders after a trying day of the most wretched souls doing their best to try and eat away at your holiday spirit.
Attend the Holiday Party
I know you have been invited to at least one….if not go to your local bar’s holiday party and hob knob with other members of your local bar for whom you have not seen in quite some time. Take the time to reply “yes” to that RSVP and just go. It may be lame, or it may be a really cool time with some old friends. Go. Just go. And have a good time (or at least a good laugh).
Bake
Nothing feels more like the holidays than shoving something in the oven that will smell up your whole house with sweet warm aromas! Even if it is a store-bought log of pre-made cookie dough. Stuff something in the oven one Saturday or Sunday afternoon and see if that lightens your holiday mood a little!
Use “Happy Holidays” as a Parting Salutation
I find that simply telling people “Happy Holidays!” instead of “good bye” or “see you later” during this time of year instantly brightens my mood. I think it is because it reminds me that it is the holidays and that wishing good cheer and fortune on others is always a heartwarming activity.
Shop Local
The convenience of online shopping (in particular at one South American River named shopping E-Commerce Site) cannot be denied. Especially to the busy legal practitioner who often cannot even find the time to run to the grocery store. However, shopping locally, even for the simplest of things, for the holidays can really bring one back to those simpler times where holiday shopping was an adventure and a good time. Don’t you remember those times when you were a kid, or a teenager and your parents would take you to the mall to holiday shop? You would walk around aimlessly trying to find some little trinket or toy your little budget could afford, so that you could buy your cousin a gift they would like. The glee that would come over you when you happened upon a store you had never visited before, and managed to find something within it that was just so cool? It is worth the effort to try and experience that again. Go on! Stop on your way home at that store you have been eyeing for the past few months. Trust me, it won’t be a waste of time.
Getting into the holiday spirit is a must for the legal practitioner. We need the levity of the season in which to indulge to prepare us for the new year to come….and all its arduous and interesting surprises.
