The Blackberry Bandit

I love my Blackberry. It is without a doubt the greatest invention I have seen in my 32 years of life. It allows me to be a lawyer outside the confines of my office…which for a JD Mom is essential. I can answer emails from clients while I run an errand or am home with a sick child. It allows me to be “there” even when I’m “not there”.

My Blackberry is connected to our work server, which means all of my contacts that are on my computer are instantly streamed to my Blackberry for my convenience. This means my Blackberry holds hundreds of phone numbers ranging from my pediatrician to a southern Iowa Judge’s chambers. Co-counsel, opposing counsel, partners…all their numbers are conveniently stored for my use.

So, it goes without saying that a Blackberry in the hands of a JD Mom is a necessity… but a Blackberry in the hands of a 2 year old little boy…well that’s a whole other story.

My son, H, has never been a fan of sleeping. In fact, it took him until he was a little over 2 years old before he even attempted to sleep through the night. I have resolved myself to recognizing that for a headstrong, on-the-go toddler, sleep means he has to stop running around and this just isn’t going to happen. So it is the normal course in our household that H will get up in the middle of the night and parade himself over into our bed.

Often I check my Blackberry before I fall asleep so it is usually somewhere next to me in bed when I finally fall asleep. Little did I know that by falling asleep next to my unlocked Blackberry I was placing it in the hands of a Blackberry Bandit. H is fascinated by everyday objects and so a Blackberry to him is an exciting toy…something he can try to figure out. And unfortunately for me…I learned one night that H had “figured out” how to use my Blackberry.

So one morning, my alarm went off and I started to get ready for another crazy workday. I looked down at my Blackberry and noticed I had a missed call. I checked the number – it was a co-counsel I had been working with on a case and luckily a good friend of mine. But he called me at 3:45 a.m. which of course caught my eye. So I emailed him asking if there was something he needed since he called me in the middle of the night. He responded: “Well you called me at 3:45 a.m. and so I was checking if you needed something”! I was so embarrassed…apparently the Blackberry Bandit decided it would be fun to make prank calls from my Blackberry to random contacts in my Address Book. And of course the Blackberry Bandit couldn’t call my best friend, husband, or Mom…no he had to pick a fellow attorney.

I wish I could tell you that this was a one time thing – but the Blackberry Bandit struck again a few months later…again calling another attorney at 2:30 a.m..

So my advice to all you fellow JD Moms out there…always remember to lock your Blackberry devices as you never know if and when a Blackberry Bandit may strike. And for those past and future victims of my Blackberry Bandit…he’s sorry…he’s two…and we’re working on it. 

Mandi