I'm out to dinner with new friends who are visiting Seattle.  You don't fit the profile, says the husband.  He's smiling but he's also scanning me.  No doubt looking for my wicked sharp edges that are nowhere evident.  Not only is my dress floaty soft layers of chiffon, it is raining and my hair is a halo of corkscrews.  The same type of comment is made during the meal.  And I reassure them not to worry,  I most certainly am.

There was a time when I tried to look more like a lawyer.  But as the years have passed I've reverted to just being me.   Court appearances require appropriate attire and demeanor.  But outside of that, I chafe at having to be all buttoned up.    I don't wear lawyer like clothes and when I'm not at work, I don't act like a lawyer.  As intense and fully encompassed as I am with fighting for my clients, even in the midst of trial, when I am done for the day, I put my work up on a shelf and leave it for the next day.

I'm happy to have this trait.  It keeps me from getting too stressed.  And it allows me to lead a normal life filled with quite a bit of silliness, fun and happiness.   Tomorrow I have 2 mediations.  Often I will show up in jacket and jeans.  But tomorrow I think I'll wear a dress out of respect for my clients who are in their 70s, and probably would like me to look at least a little like a lawyer.