Life Exploding

So much has been happening in the past couple of weeks, it's becoming hard to process.

The biggest change has been that my husband and I have decided to seriously consider opening up our own law partnership next year. Greg has always wanted to go into solo practice eventually, and I guess it's always been a back burner dream of mine as well, although until now I always felt that it was too risky of an idea.

Greg has been applying for jobs, but almost everything is very narrowly focused, meaning he would likely only get experience in one specific area of law, and not necessarily an area that he wants to practice in down the line.

The possibility has rocked my world. The plan before this was for Greg to work at a firm where he would probably never see the light of day, let alone Henry and me. A job this intense (probably one with a significant commute) would mean that I would be relegated to the house for another year, because sans full-time nanny, there would be no support for me to go back to work.

We've been running the numbers, and it seems like if we can keep the overhead down, he could definitely make as much as he is making now (which isn't much, but enough to survive). Not to mention I would probably be able to glean work from the practice if we were actively seeking clients. Even if I worked a couple of days a week and during nap time, it would make a big difference to us financially.

My level of excitement over the possibility of hanging our shingle is rising every day as I research how to make it happen. Of course, it's risky. In fact, there's a pretty good chance that we will fail. But I keep coming back to the fact that we have so little to lose at this point. We don't own a home, we don't have huge savings accounts or trust funds. And if we keep the investment low, (working from home, going paperless, utilizing the public law library), I'm confident that we'll be turning a profit in a matter of months.

Tonight we're going to a CLE class, and as I pull out my old suit and rummage through my bathroom for some lipstick, I can't help but get a thrill out of the rediscovery of the person I was before morning sickness and stretch marks. I know Henry is over a year old, and I've been clinging to those sweatpants and ponytails for far too long. It's time to get back out there and release the smart, business-savvy mama who's been hiding under piles of laundry and bangs that are down to my collarbone. Here we go!