I did the MBE and it wasn't so bad

Done with Day 1 of the bar exam.

Yesterday I blew off the last few study items on my list and took a mental health day. I finally used the birthday gift certificate from my sister-in-law and got a massage and my first-ever facial. Then I went to see a movie, and spent the evening hanging with the family. At night I slept like a baby (meaning I woke up a few times, but got back to sleep) and woke up feeling relaxed and back to my old self. Which meant that I was honestly happy, not just convincing-myself happy, that the bar exam was finally here and I could stop spending every spare moment answering multiple-choice questions.

I got there a little early and took a walk around. A comparison between the bar exam and labor popped into my head -- both take lots of preparation and are anticipated with horror, but once you get through them, they're done and you never have to think about them again. (Until you get to the next state or kid.) But then I realized that labor was the most excruciating pain of my life and there was no way the bar exam could compare. I've given birth. I can handle way worse than this.

These thoughts comforted me while I ate a second breakfast. My main concern with the MBE morning session was eating enough. When I'm hungry I get distracted and can only think about food. I ate enough to focus during the morning, but in the afternoon there were lots of criminal law questions and those distract me too. I always start imagining myself as the criminal defendant and daydream elaborate scenarios where I plead for justice or scheme to evade it.

The exam conditions were more humane than I expected. The proctors were nice, we had plenty of room, the bathrooms were clean, nobody seemed to be freaking out. The actual test was tough, but so similar to the Barbri practice tests, right down to the typeface, that I felt pretty comfortable.

I finished both sessions way early, earning glares when I was one of the first ones to walk out. (I did check some of my answers, but I didn't think I was going to change anything and I really wanted to leave. So I left.) Between sessions, I walked into the city and treated myself to a fancy lunch.

The best part was when I got home. JW opened the door with a big smile, and K exclaimed, "Mommy, I bought you some ice cream!" And he did, too!

So, to quote Dr. Seuss, today is gone, today was fun, tomorrow is another one. I think tomorrow will be brutal. Not just because it's so much more material. And not just because, unlike today, I doubt I can crank out five essays in two hours. Given my past wrist problems, I will be medicated and possibly bandaged and am hoping that I will finish the day with full use of my hands. Wish me luck.