Last week I gave you my first four reflections on my life in the last year after giving up my licence to practise law.  This week, here are the remaining entries on my list of nine. 

5. Constant negativity takes its toll  

I didn’t hate my legal practice - far from it - but it’s possible one day I might have grown to. Let’s face it: no-one ever phones the lawyer to say “we’re having a great day in our community today.”  Instead, I often heard about grisly, dramatic, and dark events that result from living near others. While clients that called hoped I could help, rarely could law resolve whatever was happening. Instead, it became an exercise in helping boards and property managers neutralize or sideline situations, while encouraging them to focus on brighter aspects of the community. 

Now, I very happy to engage in more systemic issues related to housing co-ops: like how to work with governments to get more housing built, how to help people pursue post-secondary education, and how to honour our rich history. Better yet, I have some say in which issues to tackle and how we approach them. 

6. Workplace community develops over lunch

In the early part of my career, I found workplaces where lunchtime was a chance to catch up with colleagues about non-work related things. We’d laugh and share personal anecdotes away from the demands of phones and computers. We’d return to our desks, ready to take on our work again with full bellies and clear heads. 

I kick myself for never having found that groove practising law. There is nothing as soul-sucking as noshing on a bento box or a burrito at my desk while billing clients. It’s unhealthy, it’s dirty, and, perhaps most troubling, it eliminates the chance to develop positive relationship with colleagues that help sustain you through times those inevitable times when we disagree in the workplace.  

I’m delighted I’m back in a situation where on the two days/week I work from an office, I have company at lunch. 

7. I helped launch a new cadre of housing professionals 

I was recently interviewed to sit on the City’s Housing Rights Advisory Committee. There were other, more suitable candidates, so I was passed over for the gig but the interview provided a chance to reflect on my career. One of the panelists’ questions required me to consider how I’ve made a difference to the community housing world. I decided I’m proudest of the articling students who came through the firm while I was there who are making their careers as lawyers and housing professionals. A couple have turned up in government housing law jobs; others in other private law firms doing non-profit housing development work; one in senior management of a housing provider; and another doing tenant-side legal aid. I spent countless hours with them - all women - as they found their feet first as students and then as young lawyers. I shared with them my experiences and told them things I wish someone had told me. My enthusiasm for housing work must have rubbed off on them because I don’t recall any of them arriving at the firm with a vision of working in this sector. I am so pleased they took the bait!

8. I live smaller - and I love it 

Amid a lot of great things that happened for me in 2023, one of the highlights is reverting to small living after 12 years of being overhoused initially as part of a couple and then for the last five years, alone in a three- bedroom house. I love Chandlerville. I have stopped waking up in the night and roaming around marvelling at how much I love it, but, I did for awhile. While certain aspects of living in 550 sq feet have been more challenging than others - for example, a 9 cu ft fridge which is 1/3 the size of my old one - there is something very self-indulgent and special about living with only those things that really make you happy and in a space with a design aesthetic that reflects just you. 

I have achieved the best of all worlds too. In my big house at the other end of the yard I have a series of guests happy to find accommodation in a tight market and even happier to use all those things I couldn’t or didn’t want to get rid of. For those who remember, my first guests came from Turkey to give their baby Canadian citizenship and are returning to my place for a few weeks early in 2024. They are plunging into Canadian life full-force, and looking long-term housing in Barrie. I’ve had four groups renting since them, all as positive.   

9. I’m a writer! 

Leaving the firm and building a laneway suite were all part of a larger project to provide passive income so I can work less and write more. 2023 began with a nine week break from work, six of which were spent completing an online writing course designed to kick-start publishing. I learned so much from that program, including how imperative it is to increase the odds of acceptance by increasing the submissions. In 2023, I got three short pieces published in US literary journals; was named on three contest longlists and one shortlist; and won 2nd place in a contest. I earned my first income from writing - a total of $126 Canadian. Sure, contest entries cost me quite a bit more than that and I've had 65 rejections, but I never focus on the negatives. This is a numbers game and I’m playing it every week. 

I’ve also published a blog every week for the last 135 weeks. That’s about 100,000 words, longer than the average full-length creative non-fiction book. My subscribers’ list is small but grows every month. (Please subscribe by completing the form at the bottom of page if you haven’t already.)

If you aren’t sure the track your life is on continues to tick the boxes you need ticking, consider taking steps to move to a new train. If you’re like me, you’ll do it at a station where you can take all safety precautions. No leaping from one moving train to another for me!  Have I left my last station? I doubt it. For now, though, I’ve got the best view I could ask for and everything I need on the car with me for a comfortable journey. 

Happy new year.

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