Team Penning

Have you ever watched Team penning?  My cousins used to participate in these highly amusing rodeo competitions.  A team of three riders are released onto the field as a number is called.  There are three cows with that number in a herd of 30 cows and the goal is to separate (or “cut”) those three cows and get them (and only them) into a pen in the shortest amount of time.  It can be so funny to watch.  They get one in but while they attempt to “cut” the other 2, the first one meanders back out and into the herd. 

I am telling you this not because I am missing my country roots but because I feel exactly like this when attorney meetings come around.  It is entered on each attorney’s outlook calendar and they each receive multiple emails warning them of the meeting, reminding them of the meeting and letting them know when lunch is in the conference room.  Somehow, however, my boss always blames me if he goes into the conference room and the others are not in there.  So I have to go “round em’ up” (his words) but it seems every attorney wants to be the last one in.  So one will go in there and meander right back out if he is the first one.  It is the most trivial task I have.  Then, because they always start the meeting late (as my team penning skills are not so great, I can't decide if it is because I don't get a team or because I don’t get a horse) I have to go in and get them to break it up for scheduled meetings and suddenly they need family time.  Needless to say, I am so glad these meetings have been changed to once every other week instead of weekly.