The Wonder Years.

In May of 1993 I was a freshly minted, newly graduated lawyer, without a clue as to what I was going to be when I grew up. Now I had spent the majority of law school trying to avoid learning how to be a lawyer. (That is another post, for another day...) I only agreed to take the Idaho State Bar exam under duress, and I certainly had NO intention of ever practicing law. (Again, another post, for another day.)

I returned to Idaho from Provo, and moved in with my grandmother. I had no job, a paper to finish before my graduation would be "official" and honestly no clue what the future would hold. It took two weeks to finish the paper, and right around the time it was completed I received a telephone call from my former Young Women's advisor, Nadine Brown. Nadine was in charge of the Appeals Unit for the Idaho Department of Labor, and in need of some help. You see Idaho was in a recession at the time, and recessions are really good business for labor departments that administer unemployment insurance benefits. The joke among employees is "What recession were you hired in?" Nadine was looking for some temporary help conducting unemployment insurance hearings, and asked if I was available for 3-6 months. I checked my calendar, yep I was free. So to Boise I headed. My first real, albeit temporary, attorney job. Clearly she had never seen my law school grades..... so it was a good thing I had an "in" with the boss.

Upon arrival she directed me to an office, like one with an actual desk, chair, phone and computer, but most importantly a door that shut! A week or so was spent training me how to conduct a hearing. You know that pesky stuff like due process, but most importantly how to operate the telephone system, since most of the hearings were conducted over the phone by conferencing in all the parties. Then she turned me loose on society, or at least the unsuspecting people of the State of Idaho.

I called my best friend from law school, Robert, and told him I was working at an actual job, like as an attorney. I told him I conducted hearings, you know, like a judge, and people called me "your honor." (I laughed EVERY time that happened, because if those parties only knew the snot nose kid they were talking to.....) I had a telephone that had more lines, and lights then I had ever seen in my life.

I was in wonder and awe of the whole experience.

To this day I can recall my office, the color of the furniture, the floor tile in the 1960's circa building, the dark bathroom, and the faces of the people I worked with. I recall how grown up I felt driving to Boise every day, to work in office, dressed in a suit, to do something important. To make decisions, but most importantly to be trusted to make decisions. It was a magical time for me.

I didn't see a whole lot of Nadine. As an administrator she was in meetings, and I was busily about the business of being legal, but she would check on me, making sure I was enjoying my work, and telling me how grateful she was that I was there.

My time there was short, about six months. The recession was ending, the need for my services was dwindling, and I wanted to move on to other things. I went to law school wanting to be a prosecutor. I wanted to be in the courtroom, I wanted to be where the action was. I needed to take the bar. I bid my farewell and thanked Nadine for experience. It had been a "win/win" for both of us.

I took and passed the bar. I became a prosecutor. I threw people in jail. I rode with the cops. I had death threats. I won my first 16 jury trial in a row. I became a force to be reckoned with. It was a magical time too. Like all things in life it was a part of the journey, not the destination.

In 2002, nine years after swearing I would never live in Provo again, I found myself living in Provo again. And it was a recession. Utah Department of Workforce Services was looking for an Administrative Law Judge. Qualifications: Lawyer, trial experience, and unemployment insurance experience. Check, check and check. I applied. They hired me. (Again, good thing they didn't ask for my law school grades...) In the last 8 years I have moved within the Department to the job I have now. A job that I love, a job that gives me the flexibility to be a mom, a job that lets me work with really great people, and job that is interesting, fun and challenging. A job that when I started with the Department in 2002 I never imagined I would have. A job I never would have if I hadn't spent that short six months working for Nadine in the Idaho Labor Department.

Yesterday I found out my friend Nadine died. Cancer. Nasty, icky awful cancer. I have thought of Nadine over the years. I have thought of the professional impact she has had on my life. When I was a teenager she saw something in me, and believed. Believed enough to hire me right out of law school, at a time in my life when I didn't even believe in myself. Mentored me not only as a young woman, but as a professional.

I never could have known or predicted in 1993 the impact that short experience would have on the rest of my life. I am sure Nadine never could have predicted it either. After all she was just looking for some temporary help to move her rather large case load along. And I am quite sure as my young women's advisor she NEVER thought it would ever lead to me working for her some day. But that is what it is about. One person, connecting with another person, opening doors, creating opportunities, and believing.

Nadine made the wonder years, wonderful.