The end of the year has a way of sneaking up on us, especially in the legal profession. December often arrives with urgency, heavy expectations, full calendars, and the pressure to wrap everything up neatly. It is easy to slip into autopilot and push yourself through the final stretch without pausing to breathe.
This final week of 2025 offers four simple practices that can help you end the year feeling more aligned, grounded, and renewed.
Gratitude has been a consistent yet evolving theme in my life. For years, I strived to find balance amid the chaos of work, motherhood, and personal challenges. I often found myself overwhelmed, overlooking the simple joys around me. Then I discovered blogging, and although I was not consistent with writing at first, it planted a seed that has grown into something truly transformative.
Writing has been a source of calm and reflection for me, especially during times when I am flooded with projects or just flabbergasted with life. Whenever I committed to the practice of gratitude, I noticed a shift in my mindset. Instead of focusing on what was lacking, I began to see the abundance in my life with my family, friends, and faith. Gratitude became my lens for seeing the beauty in my world, even on the busiest of days.
What Happens In A Shutdown?
When a lapse in funding occurs, the law requires agencies to cease activity and furlough “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees include those who work to protect life and property. Typically, they stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has threatened the mass firing of federal workers in a shutdown. An OMB memo said those programs that didn’t get funding through Trump’s mega-bill this summer would bear the brunt of a shutdown.
That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when furloughed federal workers returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.
Like most of us, I am grateful that 2020 is coming to an end. Between the business chaos, political disruptions, social disruptions, and all the changes happening in our lives, we are all thinking more in terms of survival than life improvement.
When a new year approaches, it becomes the time when people usually think about changes they can make to improve their lives. These are otherwise known as New Year’s resolutions, however with the uncertainly facing us in 2021, many people are just trying to make it day by day.
Keeping a consistent record book is the single best thing a notary can do to protect himself against allegations of misconduct. A good record book will include the date and time of the notarization, the type of notarial act, the name, address, signature and type of identification of the signer, and any other important notes. Even in states where a record book isn't required, its use is universally recommended.
