December feels like a country song. Two dogs died on the 1st. A hard rain exposed latent roof damage and collapsed ceiling in two rooms. Stove, fridge and water heater all went out on the same day last week. Yesterday my spouse said they needed a break from the chaos through the holidays and left. Today a positive covid test. And 7 deals trying to close before year end requiring my full attention so none of the aforementioned can get any attention.

Associates, don’t let this become you.

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You’ve got this Partner! Just keep the wheels moving and you’ll get through this.

A few weeks ago, my dog had a stroke and died while I was busy working. For a couple of hours, I didn’t even notice what happened because I was so focused on finishing an assignment for a partner breathing down my neck. My boyfriend had been gone all week tending to his dad that had a massive heart attack and open heart surgery. My boyfriend had our dog for over a decade and I felt so bad that he died on my watch.

I hope you make it through this difficult time.

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This is so sad

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Shit man, hang in there. And I thought I was having a bad day after both my babies wound up in the NICU with RSV for the second time in a month so I’m stuck working at 11:30pm to compensate. You deserve a good vacation to decompress after the new year. Take care of yourself.

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That is rough, OP, sorry to hear it. Can you heavily lean on your senior associates or maybe pull in some other partners to help with the work aspect at least? I would go above and beyond if a partner I liked was having a hard time and was honestly asking for help.

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You’re a champion but don’t break yourself. You should schedule time off in January. Even if you don’t have a plan of what to do, just schedule it. You need a real break.

Take care of yourself, my friend. I had to put my dog down during the middle of trial, while selling a house, and renovating a new house which got delayed, which led to having to find a place to rent. It put a lot of strain on my relationship. And I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day to be a good lawyer, good spouse, good anything, really. Let alone time to grieve the loss of my four-legged bud, who was my pre-having-kids kid. I had a lot of the wtf is the point of all this work if everything else if falling apart thoughts.

So, I don’t know what you’re going through, but I know how hard it can be to juggle life when it feels like everything is crashing down at once.

Do your best with your spouse. Accept that it might take time. Do your best at work. Accept that the work might not be perfect. Do your best with yourself. Allow yourself time to grieve for your pets. Remote therapy was immensely helpful for me. And delegate the house stuff (or pay someone to delegate it for you) as best you can.

Things will get better. They did for me. But I’m sorry you’re going through all of this.

likehelpfuluplifting

How did your dogs die? 😢

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Awww. You sound like a wonderful parent who gifted those creatures two wonderful lives.

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Also why would your spouse abandon you to deal with the chaos?

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As always, I will deal with my mental health needs next year.

Sending you all the best ♥️♥️♥️ take the time to blast sappy country and cry if you need to (you won’t be alone).

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Sending you love and virtual hugs. You are a force!!!

Really sorry to hear. Hang in there.

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