Trying to Move Forward

It's been a tough week at work, but the team is slowly moving forward, and things are beginning to return to some level of normalcy. My boss' funeral is this coming Saturday morning, and I imagine there will be tears and reminiscing aplenty. A few of our clients are even flying in from out of town. Out of respect for the family, I avoid mentioning names, but suffice it to say that not only was he a real leader, he was one of only a handful of giants nationwide in the particular niche of his practice.

As time has gone by this week, I've learned more and more about his life, and I feel like in the 3.5 years I've worked for this firm, I've been fortunate to experience some of the best of his life. I admired him, I respected him, I am proud to have been on his team, and I shall miss him.

My own reactions this week have seemed odd to me, at times. Until now, my experience with death has been limited. I lost three of my grandparents within a very short span of time (1987-1988), but I was stationed overseas and wasn't even informed of their deaths until after funerals had taken place. And I hadn't seen much of them since my early childhood. Until now, I haven't had to deal with losing someone whom I was in constant and consistent contact with. I certainly didn't expect to find myself tearing up as much as I have. Usually, it's been when I've been around someone else who was getting misty or teary at the same time. He's the reason I'm at this firm, and I've looked up to him as someone I'd like to emulate.

The Good Doctor Mondo is actually a specialist in the subject of grief and loss, and has in fact taught undergraduate and graduate therapy courses on the subject. It's been really helpful to get to talk with her about my reactions. I love that woman.

Anyway, I do see us returning to being able to focus on the tasks at hand, but things will never quite be exactly the same.

Remember to find something to cherish in each moment and contact with those you know.

Unambiguous Loss

Before last night, I thought I would blog today about yesterday's online poker excursions, and the Mondo family's weekend trip to Breckenridge.

However, I learned late last night that my boss died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday. He was more than a boss, he was our leader, the head of our practice group, and one of the firm's name partners. For those poker bloggers in the legal field (and there's quite a few of them), you can imagine the overwhelming raft of practical issues that need dealing with.

But right now, we're all just kind of overwhelmed otherwise.

I'm personally extremely distracted and stunned right now. I can only imagine what those who worked for him far longer than I am going through, and I can't even imagine his family's loss.

There's not much more I can say right now.