Buddy, what are you actually saying? What does this mean for me and my project?
The other day when I asked him to break down the risks in a contract I wanted signed stat, he told me that he wanted a line added stating the company would indemnify us if a third party sued them and the people that used their product.
Okay ... almost there. What does indemnify mean?
What? You come from a household of lawyers, how do you not know what indemnify means?
Well ... because whenever the conversation at the dinner table started to drift from me and my activities to law or health care, I excused myself and did the dishes.
(Eye roll.) It means they need to defend us.
Thanks. I'll get that added.
So according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary "indemnify" means "securing against hurt, loss or damage."
Oh.
I had heard this many times before - at the dinner table - during power walks - on Walnut Street - while poolside. My Mom didn't put it in official terms, but she definitely taught me how to secure myself against hurt, loss or damage.
See - my Mom is the definition of a superwoman - she is simultaneously a road warrior, dictating diva, judicious judge, cracker of the whip, blackberry addict, overall overachiever and mother to me and my brother and sister. And while my siblings tended to last a little longer at the legal-minded dinner conversations (probably in avoidance of dish duty) and learned the big words like toxic torts, asbestos, and indemnity - I had a much more rudimentary understanding of what my Mom did in the legal field.
I knew she dictated a lot. I knew her secretary talked on the phone too much. I knew she only had a Diet Coke for lunch everyday. I knew Mr. Vey lost 15 pounds or so whenever he was in trial. And I learned how incompetent associates can be. I did try to learn a little more once - when I took advantage of take your daughter to work day. The only thing I remember though was gossiping with my Mom in her Buick Park Avenue all the way to Mt. Pleasant and then eating the Au Bon Pain-esque tuna salad on baguettes that I made for us before we had a look at some giant book of Mt. Pleasant records.
What I did understand though was the role my Mom played outside of work - I understood the other language she spoke. The one that included Irish lullabies, pamplamouses, power walk cha chas, Hollywood gossip, kick boarding, schlepping, cheese and crackers, gin and tonics, Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses, table cloth ironing, boogalooing, fritzers, hugs and kisses goodnight, and words of comfort and consolation when I needed them. My Mom didn't need to use the word "indemnify" with me, because she taught me how to defend myself in lingo that I understood.
She taught me how to defend myself against loss when shopping for a good deal.
She taught me how to defend myself against hurt when she cheered for me at every single lacrosse game.
She taught me how to defend myself against damage every month when we went to see Anne at Griff's.
My Mom taught me how to laugh endlessly throughout the day - or until Jaywalking wrapped up.
She taught me how to give selflessly - or until Dad says, "what?! you can't give a rando a $200 graduation gift!"
She taught me how to pick a winner and love him tirelessly - with kisses in the kitchen, hip swinging to a favorite song, and cards in the mail just because.
My Mom has taught me how to be my own kind of superwoman - one that is still in training, but one that is hopeful about joining my Mom's league of super heroes in the near future.
Lo.
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