J.J. Goodman: Writings, Musings and More

Well here we are, my friends. Another year has come and gone. As seems to be par for the course these last several years, my latest journey around the sun has been nothing short of extraordinary. I don't necessarily mean that it in a positive way, however. That's not to say it's been a bad year, either. It's simply been… extraordinary, as in exceptionally different from the norm. This past year was my first full year as a parent, don't forget. At this time last year my little peanut decided I needed to stay home with her… with my first case of pink eye since the Carter administration (no joke). This year she's running and jumping off furniture and saying two-word sentences and… holy shit. What a difference a year makes. This past year has also seen me experience some extraordinary things on the employment front, too. Things occurred to temporarily change the focus of my legal career, and not in manner that I'd prefer. Let's just say some of what

(For my friends.) A group of friends, some of whom hadn't seen each other in two decades, get together to share a house while attending their twentieth reunion. Sounds like the plot for my next book, right? It could be, but no. That, dear readers, was exactly what happened this past weekend. You're all aware that, while writing is my dream job, lawyering is my actual day job. Though it's hard to admit, I have been at this now for twenty years. I graduated from law school in 1999, and did so with an amazing group of people that I am still blessed to call friends all these years later. The original classroom building at my law school.  We all arrived to a sleepy little New England town in 1996 with aspirations of becoming lawyers. We knew it would be a long and difficult journey over the three years we'd spend there. I don't think any of us could have ever anticipated what our time there would have in store for us, however, as individuals or as