A Fond Farewell

My sweet Grampa' Hall passed away Monday morning at 5:30am; he was 89 years old. I had written him a letter last week as my way of saying "goodbye". My dad had told me that he still loved reading and I thought, "what better way to send him off than with a letter?". I could have gone on for pages but I kept it short and simple. My family read it to him Sunday evening. 

Dearest Grampa’ Hall,

         I wanted you to know how special you are to me. Miles may separate us, months may have passed since we last saw each other, but you are with me at all times.

         Every day when I look into the mirror and I brush my red hair, I think of you. When I look down at my hands, I think of you. When I see how blue my eyes are, I think of you. There is no doubt that I am a Hall, and I savor these similarities that we share. I am proud to see my reflection and be reminded of the amazing man that I resemble.

         I have precious memories of you: you playing the organ in your living room at Eden Street; you fitting me for my first pair of glasses; you kissing my cheek on my wedding day. All of my memories are of you laughing or smiling and I love that. In my mind there will always be an image of you with your blue eyes sparkling and your smile stretched wide.

         I keep a picture of you, Grammie and me on my bedside table; it was taken when I was ten years old. In the picture we are at the house at the Cape and the three of us have big grins. I love to look at it and just let my mind wander to that trip. I remember it distinctly and you, my dad and I went for a walk that day. I felt so special getting you all to myself, having to share you only with my dad and being able to listen to your stories.

         You are so extraordinary to me and I just want you to know that. I treasure the history we have together and I am honored that I am able to call you my Grampa’ Hall. You will always be my Grampa’ Hall and I will always be your granddaughter.

         I love you more than anything.

         Victoria

Finish Line

Wow! It has been a little over a month since my last post--it wasn't a conscious effort to not write but with the excitement of the bar exam and beginning our new jobs, days slipped away. However, I am back in full force and ready to unveil to the unwavering masses the updates of my life. Since it has been so long, the best way to handle this is via a list. I love lists; they're easy to read, easy to write and they're great for taking lots of information and compacting it into an easy to digest format. Here goes.

1) The Bar Exam: Kyle and I took the dreaded Florida bar exam and we were in one room for two days with 3,500 people. ONE ROOM. It was a bizarre experience but one that I am grateful is over. We both had so many people praying for us and supporting us that I went in there with as little anxiety as possible and it is still so weird to not have anything to study in my free time!

2) Work: Kyle and I began work on Wednesday August 1st. It is amazing. We had both heard from several people that our circuit was the best in the state to work in, and that is absolutely true. The work environment is one of support and an open door policy so there is never that fear of, "oh my gosh, what do I do? How do I figure this out?" because there is always somebody, even division chiefs, that are happy to help you. Our co-workers are funny, smart, and amazingly nice people so going into work is so enjoyable! I never thought it possible to laugh so much in an office but I laugh loudly and lots. We are lucky to have started with four other recent grads who we get along with really well. Two of them have wives which is great for me because I work with a bunch of boys (all new hires except for me were of the male gender). There is some freedom to that because I can chew with my mouth open, get veggie sub particles in my hair and participate in vulgar jokes, but sometimes, you just need some girlfriends! We went to office happy hour on Friday and then had people over last night, and it was really fun. It is really cool to be able to be friends with the people you work with. Did I mention that there is a lot of laughter??

3) Creativity: During bar studies I came up with this idea to combine pictures of celebrities with legal sayings/phrases/ideas and I executed that idea into a real product and submitted it to "Only In Law School's" (originally and still a website, it now has a Facebook page) Facebook page. They have started to post them and it is SO cool to see my creations available to literally, hundreds of people. One post had around 290 "likes" and 57 "shares" which is fun to think that close to 300 strangers liked my idea! I have LOTS of other fun ideas and one big project that I've been working diligently on for over a year (crossing my fingers you will all know about it sometime in the future). It's a great release to be able to take a break and have a creative outlet that people appreciate. 

4) Firsts: This year has been full of firsts! Graduation from law school, the Florida Bar, beginning a big girl job as an attorney and there are more to come! Saturday September 1st, I am hosting a baby shower (along with help from the lovely Missy Hall and Courtney Lancaster) for my amazing sister-in-law, Alessandra. It is my first time ever as hostess for a baby shower (and in fact, I have not even been to many...maybe two baby showers?) and I am so excited. After the baby shower and potentially October 30th (but maybe a few days before or after) I become an AUNT for the first time!! If the excitement could get from the keys on the keyboard to this screen, you would be overwhelmed because I am so excited!!! I am going to hug the little baby Austin--his name is Austin Charles-- so much and there is a chance that I will just not put him down. He will become a fixture on me, like my diamond earrings or my wedding ring.  After the baby is born, I move into my role (first time ever!) as matron of honor for the beautiful Whitney Anderson. I am beyond honored to stand by her side, and with help from Alix, will plan the most amazing bachelorette party and bridal shower in the history of weddings (well, maybe not that great, but the events will be near perfect!). After her June wedding, I transition into my other role as bridesmaid for my future sister-in-law's wedding to my brother in October. Although I have been a bridesmaid once before, it has been so long ago that we will  bend the rules and just consider this a first too! In the midst of these firsts, there will also be a first vacation for Kyle and I (Dominican Republic...weeeee!), first PAYCHECKS (every month beginning Friday August 31st), first big-girl health insurance (that is not my dad's) and probably a myriad of other firsts that I can't even think of right now.

5) Finish Line: When people ask me how it feels to have finally started work and not be a student, the only response I can think of is that it feels as if I have crossed a finish line. It is a great but interesting feeling because it just "hit" me one day. Much like the moment I met Kyle and I knew he was the one (I never believed it when people told me that it was possible to just know...I thought a few times in my life I knew, but it was nothing like the moment with Kyle), driving home after work after the first day I  felt like I had crossed a finish line. For so long I have worked to get into law school, then to survive law school and graduate, then to secure a job, then to actually begin it, and it is an incredible feeling. I am here and best of all, I am along on this grand adventure with my husband! I know in life there are always finish lines, and with the crossing of this most recent one is the beginning of a new race, but with my job, my two dogs, my house and my husband (not to mention a great family) I feel so content. Needless to say, there will be difficult moments, especially with two sick grandfathers, there will be change this year that I would rather not occur, but those are a part of life and changes that I am prepared to handle, especially with this feeling of arrival.

6) PAYCHECKS: I have become quite the budgetista, which is a change, but a good one. With the arrival of our new best friends, steady paychecks, I created a solid and meticulous budget that maps out literally every expense we could have. Gone are the days of calling my mom and dad when I'm in a tight spot, gone are the days of menial jobs that involve customer service to rude people, gone are the days of not being able to save, gone are the days of being a student (and I have served my time as a student!). Here are the days of savings accounts, bills being paid and completely paid off, and a new 55" TV that will arrive the week before Christmas. We figured out how much we needed to put away each week to upgrade (42" TV isn't cutting it for my husband anymore) and after years of not being able to save for things (or having to rely on Santa Claus to bring stuff to me), it is a fulfilling feeling! Being a student had one perk, I met my husband, but I am happy to be a real adult.

7) That's a Wrap: Well my faithful readers, that is a wrap! I will return next week to update you on more things and I'm sure by then I'll include some humorous stories, fashion advice for the working woman, and complaints regarding my two dogs. Until then, have fun!