Class Completed

I graduated yesterday afternoon, from Florida Family Court Mediator training. The class lasted 2 weeekends (the first a 3 day job) from 8-530. Boy! I'm out of classroom shape. I found it grueling.

Most of the sessions took place at UM Law School, and the students there were in the middle of finals. I felt their anxiety. I was tempted to take some aside, and tell them to rethink their career choices.

My classmates included 6 current and retired judges, some forensic accountants, three mental health counselors, and the rest lawyers. The lectures were informative and well presented. The questions from the students --ugh.

Dr. Barry, whose professional life is riddled with meetings, is always amazed at how some people LOVE the sound of their own voices. I saw it this last weekend, too. Instead of "Can you repeat and better explain that," we were treated to "I had a case once, where this and that happened, and I heroically did the following for the cause of justice and good, and then my brother said this and that, and my question is..."

I got the sense that there was rarely a question --it was an opportunity to show off one's intellect. The major pillar of being a mediator is patience. I don't know that I still have it.

Still, I enjoyed most of the participants. One in particular --a sitting judge. My partner Paul and I spoke with her a lot. She's cool. 57 and in search of the right man, funny, wants to move to Montana at least part time. We promised to meet for lunch, and I think we'll follow up.

To get my certification, I need to observe or co-mediate a bunch of cases, and we're told that's tough to do these days with the rush of folks (like me) leaving their law careers to become mediators, in hopes that it provides a more sane and humane way of making a living. I'm not daunted. When I chose to attend law school in the early 80s, I heard from many folks that there were "too many lawyers," and I should pick something else.

Excuses are for losers. I figure there are never too many good members of any profession, and I can always find some business...

For now, though, I plan to enjoy the end of the year. D1 is finished with her finals, and has some well deserved time off. D2 flies home tonight from UF, stays 3 nights, and then flies up for another exam. She comes home for the rest of Winter Break next weekend.

Wifey is recovering from her top secret project, and we plan to celebrate her (top secret number here) birthday on the 25th. We're not alone in our plans. The whole city is putting up lights and decorations to celebrate Wifey's birthday.

As Jeff says about Wifey --she is our own personal savior...

2011 is just a few weeks away. I figure that's the time I'll give some real thought to this mediator gig.