Yes, I did. My grandmother, Becky French, had a heart attack several months ago and I promised I would bring her up to Greenville to see my house and where I work. I had not made good on that promise yet and she reminded me every time we talked.
However being a third year lawyer, I still needed to work. Although the Trammell Law Firm, P.A., is not officially one of the over 100 companies on the Parenting in the Workplace Institute’s list that allows babies in the workplace, I felt they would be flexible with a more mature adult.
What I learned from bringing my grandmother to work:
- Don’t say it, if you don’t want others to hear it- She started off in my office and when I reminded her about confidentiality, she responded that she had not heard a thing my paralegal and I were talking about. A few minutes later, she inquired how someone could get hurt the way the lady said she got hurt, as told to me by my paralegal.
- I am blessed to have an office job- My grandmother worked at Oakland Mill for 22 years and 13 years in a sewing room. The fact that I sit in a temperature controlled room, in a comfortable chair, and strain my brain and not my brawn was amazing to her. She also found it a little boring.
- Live each day like it is your last (in a good way)- Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to Stanford in 2005 had that quote, along with a lot of other interesting points. I spend hours on end talking with complete strangers about the most intimate and traumatic moments of their lives. I need to make sure I take advantage of the time I have with loved ones.
- Pride comes before the fall–As I took my grandmother home, I felt a wave of arrogance for being the first attorney in the family. Then I asked her how her day at my office was and she replied, "I enjoyed being a banker for today."
- Nobody loves you like your family
- I need to go to a good church, get married because I am getting too old, provide great grandchildren, clean my house, plant more flowers in my yard…………..
"You don’t need a holiday to celebrate every day". — Trey Mills