Introduction

Oftentimes throughout my life, I’ve found myself straddling two worlds. Always a tomboy growing up, I lacked my friends’ endless interest in performing dance routines and their preference for shopping at the latest trendy store we were all supposed to be obsessed with. When my parents finally acquiesced and allowed me to play ice hockey in a boys’ league, my gender made me an outsider there as well. Similarly, I enjoyed playing my violin since picking up the instrument in elementary school, but when I began attending a performing arts camp, I found that I lacked the passion (i.e. willingness to practice) my fellow orchestra members had for music. A few years later, not wanting to spend my whole life living in New York State, I opted to go to college in Boston. Despite enjoying the city and the college experience very much, I’ve never felt more like a New Yorker than when I lived elsewhere.

This blog represents my latest attempt at reconciling two parts of myself: lawyer and mother. While I’ve been thrilled to take some time off from work to care for my infant daughter, I can’t turn off the part of my brain that craves intellectual stimulation and operates best under discovery schedules and brief submission deadlines. Thankfully, we live in a day and age where balance can be found, and the hope is that running this website (along with doing some flexible part-time work I’ve been fortunate enough to work into my schedule of childrearing) will keep me connected to the legal world while imparting my experiences as a mother.  

In some ways, becoming a parent has only intensified my preexisting interest in policy and regulation. Issues affecting children – education policy, anti-bullying campaigns, toy safety recalls – are now squarely on my radar. However, as any parent of an infant will likely tell you, I also have far less energy in my tank to exercise my vigilant consumer protection reflex. Believe me, I want to research the ergonomic and environmental safety impacts of every single thing we come into contact with, but I also put a priority on practicing daily hygiene, enjoying playtime with my daughter, and having an hour to myself simply to relax at the end of a long day.

Please stay tuned for forthcoming articles. I also set up a Twitter account where I’ll post links to this site as well as comments on current events and such. I hope to hear from readers and engage in spirited dialogue about important issues of the moment.

Thanks,

nylawmom