Celebrating my birthday in December
I know it’s a little corny to talk about my husband’s and my love story. It’s funny because we aren’t usually sentimental! But February is the month we talk about love. Plus, my husband and I have a unique relationship — we happen to work in the same office.
People ask me, “How can you stand to work around your husband all day?” First of all, he does criminal defense work, and our schedules are so busy that I don’t see him much in the office. But it isn’t a chore when I do. He drives me crazy sometimes, and I probably drive him crazy. But we have a great dynamic, and I can’t imagine being married to anyone else.
You could say our relationship is a classic lawyer love story. We met on the first day of orientation at the University of Alabama School of Law in a big lecture hall. They gave out a photo album of incoming students with pictures and little bios, and we were the only two people from Virginia starting that year.
He must have seen I was the other Virginian, so he sought me out and struck up a conversation. We talked for a while, and I thought, “This guy is kind of cute!” So I actually asked him if he wanted to meet up later and grab some food. You can decide whether that counts as me asking him out on our first date!
We started dating right away and dated all through law school. Then we had the biggest summer of our lives — we graduated, passed the Florida Bar exam, and got married all within a few months. Now, 21 years later, we’re in the same office practicing law.
I hope my clients never need him, but if any are in trouble, I always joke that I happen to know a great criminal defense lawyer. And he is great. He’s loyal, honest, sincere, and super smart. He’s also laid back, which contrasts well with my overdrive. It’s a nice balance. I couldn’t be married to someone who was just like me.
Our staff would be the first to tell you that there’s definitely a contrast between the two of us. In fact, I’m pretty sure they really enjoy it. We tease each other a bit and bicker back and forth (in a playful way). We used to even share the same staff and assistants. Now that we’ve grown, we’ve rearranged things and have our own assistants, but everyone is still around us a lot, and they get to see our contrast in action.
Like I said, we aren’t very sentimental. But I will say this: After 21 years, Andrew still makes me laugh. Most importantly, he helps me laugh at myself when I take myself too seriously. He’s still learning when it’s okay to tease me — that’s a lifelong process. But he’ll get there! After all, he’s a hard worker.
