At a certain point on Monday, I turned to my friend Carol and said, "I am so going to write about this."

We had between eight and eleven people we thought were going to Columbus. So, we did some transportation/logistical stuff and worked out that my parents would drive my dad's car, which seats five, and Carol would drive my grandparents' van, which seats seven. A friend who has had some knee problems needed to be able to put up her leg, so that took two seats. So, we thought we were pretty jiggy.

All went according to plan, except for everything.

My grandma decided she could do most of the driving to Columbus. OK, that worked.

Then, we had to put down the back seat of the van to get a wheelchair in, so my mom, dad, grandpa, Carol and I ended up in their car, and three people (my grandma, my friend, and my great-aunt) in the (allegedly) seven seat van.

Nonetheless. Off we went to Columbus. In Delaware, (Ohio), we picked up my brother, who had driven down ahead of us, and he drove the van (so my grandma sat and held Mrs. Bahnsen's leg.) We got to Columbus about 1:30, which had me sweating just a few bullets, because I was to be seated by 1:45.

So, I get out of the car while they get ready to park and high-tail it to the Ohio Theater. Get there with plenty of time. The Ohio Theater is a beautiful building, if just a little less well-lit than I would like.

My grandma asked me when I got to her house that morning if I was nervous at all. No, I didn't really have to do anything, for heaven's sakes, at that point. I was nervous before the bar exam. I was NERVOUS before the results came back. I knew they were going to swear me in.

Got the question from my grandpa, "Have you heard about a job?" Somehow, I don't think solo practice was quite what he was thinking of as a job.

When I walked into the Ohio Theatre, though, I will say the magnitude and excitement of the day hit me. As I sat there, waiting for the ceremony to begin, I was very, very happy.

Did not see a ton of people from UTLaw. I think the coolest thing that happened was probably at the morning ceremony to OLS, who basically found herself sitting in the middle of two other bar bloggers. WOW! (And she mentioned she wish I and another blogger had been there.)

I was trying to finally make contact with and meet Linds, and I DID see her, but never did get to meet up with her. (Linds, I got your second email after I got home. Ach, well...)

OK, ceremony. Organ music -- good organ music, to boot. Don't know what order they seated people in, but obviously, there was one. Welcome by Chief Justice Moyer. Remarks by dean of the Northern Kentucky law school. (During the bar exam, I joked I was seated so far in the back of the hall, I was applying Kentucky law.) Remarks by the President of the Ohio Bar Association, who sorta confessed she might not have passed the bar the first time. Swearing-in and remarks by Justice Alice Robie Resnick, who made comments about making mistakes and owning up to them. (For you out of staters, she had a DUI in February.)

Then, they called us up to the stage. And they moved through it quickly. Thought it kind of cool my name was called by Marcia Mengel, who I dubbed the voice of the Ohio bar exam, because I got so used to hearing it in July. Finished.

Ran into a few people from law school -- Shawn, whose greatest quote was when I asked her what she was going to do now: "Hopefully, pay off my loans!" Shelby, who faced her own challenges in passing the bar, was there. Other folks I remembered from my first day of law school. Cool, very cool. We're attorneys!!!!

Leave ceremony. They had a fire alarm during it, which, sometime, I will tell you why that had particular significance to me. Didn't empty out the theater, just had firemen running through with axes and such.

Went to Cheesecake Factory. Ate. Enjoyed. Thanked my family for coming to this initial consultation. Advised them any advice from here on out would result in charges. (Jokingly. Half-jokingly.)

A day of promise and potential. Very exciting.

Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it yet....

I'm a lawyer. :)