SMALL TOWN VALUES BIG CITY RESULTS Rinehardt Law | www.rinehardtlawfirm.com | 419-LAW-2020
AUGUST 2020
CLIMBING MOUNTAINS One Step at a Time
of me when I decided to return to work after several years as a stay-at-home mom.
But all of those mountains, and lots of other hills along the way, were manageable when I focused on taking one step at a time instead of standing at the bottom gazing up at the entire slope. I think about that type of mountain climbing when I talk with our clients here at Rinehardt Law. People who are facing serious injuries, folks who are bringing a case on behalf of a lost loved one, and people struggling with the injustice of having been harmed by someone else’s fault all face a steep mountain climb. It can be overwhelming. An important part of my role is reminding those people to focus on taking the challenge step by step instead of trying to climb the whole mountain all at once. I also am grateful that I get to hike that sloped journey with them and celebrate with them when they turn around at the end and see just how high they’ve climbed. Now that you know about National Mountain Climbing Day, I hope you will use it to think back on the mountains you have already conquered and to remind yourself that by taking on new challenges one step at a time, you can climb even the steepest mountains that lie ahead.
as I sat alone in my room staring out the window at the campus, I decided not to worry about the mountain but instead to just take a few small steps upward. The next day, I focused on buying books and checking assignments. The day after that, I thought about getting through orientation. And a couple days later, I just wanted to make it through that first day of class. I kept moving forward: one day at a time, one friend at a time, and one class at a time. Before I knew it, it was the end of the first semester. From that point on, I had not only momentum but also confidence to keep working my way up that mountain. In the same way that I tackled the mountain of law school, I also had to conquer other mountains over the course of my career. Starting out as a new lawyer was a pretty steep climb. So was the hill ahead of me when I had to learn how to balance my career with my new role as a mother. Even steeper still was the mountain ahead
It’s August … the month with no holidays, right? That’s what I thought, too. But then I learned about National Mountain Climbing Day, which falls on Aug. 1, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to think about how we tackle all the challenges — or “mountains” — in our lives. When I think about the mountains that I have climbed in my career, I often start with the challenge I faced when moving from a small Ohio town and close-knit college to a large, intimidating law school hundreds of miles away. I left everyone and everything I knew behind and faced a rather scary unknown. As I dragged my belongings up three flights of stairs in an unairconditioned, bare-bones dormitory on a scorching day in August, I wondered if I had made a big mistake. The mountain ahead — three long years at Harvard Law School, surrounded by unfamiliar and often unfriendly faces — seemed like too steep of a mountain to climb. But that first night,
–Melanie Fahey
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3 TIPS to Help You Overcome Your Mountains
STUCK INSIDE? 3 Activities to Keep You Busy Summertime means getting out of the house to enjoy the sunshine and the bright blue sky. But even during this great time of year, you may have to spend some of these precious days inside, not outside. Rather than scrolling through social media or reminiscing about better days, here are a few ideas you can use to turn a day spent indoors into a fun summer memory! GET CRAFTY You’re bound to have a fewmaterials floating around the house that you can use to create a new art project or even start a new hobby. If you have extra sheets of paper lying around, then give origami a go. Do you have a shirt you don’t wear anymore but still love? Turn it into a new pillow cover or a bag. You can also create fun garden decorations by painting rocks, making a wind chime, or repurposing an old boot into a new plant holder. You never know—whatever you choose to do could become your next passion. PLAN YOUR NEXT VACATION Spending the day inside might just be the perfect time to plan your next vacation. Use this time to calculate the expenses of the trip, such as travel, board, food, and souvenirs. You can also research and figure out where you’re going to stay ahead of time, whether that be a hotel or an Airbnb, to optimize your experience. Once you have the groundwork done, you’ll have a better idea of how your trip will go and be able to focus on the fun stuff when the time comes! CHANGE IT UP If you’ve been putting off rearranging or reorganizing a room in your house, then a day at home is a great chance to get started. Switching up the layout of your stuff gives your home a fresh new look and provides you with an opportunity to deep-clean your space. If you have a patio or porch, then try sprucing up those outdoor spaces with new furniture, potted plants, or trendy decor. Just imagine how satisfying it will feel once everything is in a new place and sparkling clean. Even when you’d rather be outside enjoying the last days of summer, these indoor activities will keep you entertained and give you something fun to look forward to!
On the cover of this newsletter, Melanie talks about the challenges she faced in her life and how, when things became overwhelming, she took them one step at a time. In this article, we’d like to offer a few methods to help you overcome the mountains in your life. LOOK AT ONE PART, NOT THE WHOLE. Too often, when we’re faced with a challenge, obstacle, or new project we must complete, we look at it as a whole. It’s easy to see the entire picture, and it’s just as easy for it to feel as if it will completely bury you. This is where it’s important to break apart the challenge into smaller, manageable parts that will help it seem far less daunting. By accomplishing these smaller goals, you won’t stress yourself out more than necessary, and it will feel rewarding; each step brings you closer to the larger goal. SET GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH. It’s important that you set goals that you can follow. Something as easy as writing one page a day for a writing project or going on a 20-minute walk THE CASE OF THE D A woman is driving a Dodge Caliber on U.S. Route 42. She is not paying attention and crashes into the vehicle ahead of her. The force of the collision is of such magnitude that the car she hits, a Nissan Versa, is pushed forward into a car stopped ahead of it, and that car, in turn, hits another car, like a row of dominoes. Sounds like a clear-cut case. But when the highway patrol arrives on the scene, the driver of the Caliber claims that she merely hit the Versa after it had already crashed into the car ahead of it. One of the drivers of the vehicles ahead was not sure if he had felt one impact or two, so the highway patrol was unable to determine definitively who was at fault. The driver of the Versa came to Rinehardt Law when the insurance company for the Caliber denied his claim. The driver of the Versa had a significant injury and needed help. As a young father, he had a family to support and was off work for months due to his injuries. Rinehardt Law sprang into action and took the initiative to obtain a download of the event data recorder, also known as the black box, from the Versa. Most people don’t realize that the highway patrol does not routinely download this important data. One of the data points that the black box records tells us what happened in the five seconds before the crash occurred. We knew the black box would tell us whether there was any secondary impact. With the black box data, we were able to prove
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Favorite Scone Recipe
INGREDIENTS
• • • • • • • •
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and cold
1/2 cup heavy cream
before or after work to increase your fitness are both great ways to get you started. One method of setting goals for yourself is to use SMART goals. This will help you make a goal that is S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R elevant, and T ime-bound, giving you a direction to confidently move toward. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK. While it can be tempting to race off and tackle whatever challenge you face, it’s important that you take a break every now and then. Pushing too hard, too fast, and too long leads to burn out, which may inevitably lead to a loss of interest or enthusiasm in the project. When things get too difficult, it’s okay to take a step back and give yourself a break. Enjoy the activities you love, whether that’s playing a game, doing a puzzle, walking your dog, or riding your bike. No matter what it is, taking that step back can help your body and mind restart, so you will come back more passionate than ever.
1 cup fresh blueberries (or other fruit, see below)
1/2 cup buttermilk
Lemon Glaze • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (can use orange juice for orange glaze or milk for plain glaze) • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted • 1 tbsp unsalted butter • 1 lemon, zest finely grated (orange zest, vanilla extract, or almond extract for variations)
DIRECTIONS
1.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks, cut in the butter. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together until just incorporated. Toss the blueberries (or other fruit) with a little flour. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter without mashing. 3. On a lightly floured surface, press the dough into a rectangle, about 12 x 3 x 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in half, then cut the pieces in half again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in half on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk. Alternately, use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (This is how we made them at the bakery.) Bake 15–20 minutes until browned. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze. 4. In a saucepan over low heat, mix the juice (or milk) with the confectioners’ sugar until dissolved, stirring constantly. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest (or other) and smooth out any lumps. Then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. Variations Cranberry Orange (substitute fresh cranberries for the blueberries and orange juice/zest for the lemon) Fresh Peach (substitute chopped fresh peaches and make a white glaze with milk and a dash of almond extract) Cinnamon (add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the flour and add cinnamon chips to the batter) Dried Cherry-Almond Chocolate Chip The possibilities are endless!
Remember, it’s not about how quickly you can climb your uphill battle but rather the effort you put in to get you to the top.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
that there had been no impact between the Versa and the vehicle ahead of it prior to the Caliber crashing into the Versa. We were able to prove that the driver of the Caliber was untruthful in her statement to the police. Based upon the investigative work by Rinehardt Law, the insurance company for the driver of the Caliber was forced to pay the claim. As a result, the driver of the Versa was able to obtain financial recovery to keep his family afloat.
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2404 Park Ave. W., Mansfield, Ohio 44906 419-LAW-2020 www.rinehardtlawfirm.com
INSIDE THIS EDITION
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Climbing Mountains, One Step at a Time
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Engaging Indoor Activities Fight Your Uphill Battle and Win The Case of the Double Whammy
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Favorite Scone Recipe
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One Happy Little Boy!
ONE HAPPY LITTLE BOY! In June, we teamed up with roll: Bicycle Company of Dublin to promote bicycle safety awareness. At the end of June, we held a
When Patricia Campbell entered our giveaway on Facebook, she commented on the post saying, “Would love to win for my grandson so we could ride together. Quality time!” She didn’t really expect to win, but much to her surprise, it was her name we drew from the helmet. It turns out that Patricia has three grandsons. She decided to give it to her oldest grandson, Brock, so it could be handed down to the others. Patricia reported that Brock was so excited about his new bicycle and helmet. She shared, “It put the biggest smile on his face.” Brock lives in the Cleveland area and made the trek to Columbus to pick out his new bicycle. Patricia told us he drove the whole way home holding its handlebars. We are so happy to have made Brock’s day, and we wish him and his grandma many safe miles riding together!
drawing and gave away bicycles and safety gear. One of the prizes was a kid’s bicycle and helmet.
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