My New Hobby In A Nutshell

MY NEW Hobby Nutshell IN A

by Jean Eisenmann | photo courtesy of Jean Eisenmann

Ihave a new hobby. Ever since Covid-19 forced us to become semi-homebound, I’ve had more time to be, well, bored. Yes, I’ve worked remotely, experimented with new recipes, and increased my housecleaning regimen (is my nose growing?). But I’ve lacked having a passion — such intense interest in something that I want to learn everything about it to escape the stresses of pandemic life. Quite by accident, I found it — squirrel watching.

It began innocently enough, with me believe this critter was a male, and if you idling on the couch one day, staring out wonder how I came to that conclusion, the window at the many varieties of birds please consult the internet. Anyway, I that our feeder and birdbath attract. Over became captivated by his manners, for he the next several days, I set aside time didn’t disturb the birds as they picked the to observe how ground for dropped seed interesting birds are, from the feeder above. and how they all THE ENSUING WEEKS He waited his turn, and have personalities akin to their species. FOUND MY PASSION FOR with a nod to the flock as they flew away, ate the Of course, I made THE SQUIRREL WORLD spoils. What a gentleman! sure the intense daily housecleaning INTENSIFIED. I WORE A I was hooked. Bye-bye, birdies. was completed first. LOT OF BROWN. I’ve met a few squirrelly Then, at 2 p.m. on guys in my time, but this a Friday, to be exact, it appeared. No, not four-legged variety quickly became the Sasquatch. And not a UFO. A squirrel new object of my affection. The ensuing bounded into the yard. It was brownish weeks found my passion for the squirrel rust with big brown eyes and a fluffy tail, world intensified. I wore a lot of brown. which are very unusual characteristics for They had such endearing mannerisms: a squirrel. Of course, I had seen squirrels holding food with their little hands and in the yard before, but my focus had been menacing claws, hanging upside down as on the feathered friends. All those five they wrapped their feet around the bird hours wasted that I’ll never get back. I feeder like Godzilla on the Empire State Building, gently picking gnats, ticks, or some such whatnots from their coats. Adorable.

One squirrel, in particular, was my favorite and could be identified by a dark brown ring around his nose and mouth, much like a COVID-19 face mask. I named him Corona. He dug up the flowers that surrounded our birdbath and would lie prostrate on the cool soil for what seemed like an hour. Then, Corona would bury some edible treasure reserved for a latenight snack in the very same soil, right where his buttocks had been. Tears filled my eyes.

I asked my husband, Van, if we could put together a play area for them with a tiny slide, sandbox, and trampoline. If not, how about a teeny-tiny bounce house? Van slept in the guest room that night and called me “Rodent Mom.”

Rodent? Then it dawned on me. My thoughts traveled back to fifth grade, where I learned that squirrels were part of the – gulp – RODENT family. Corona’s cousin could be a field mouse!

Let the squirrels live their lives. I’m getting back to concentrating on my housecleaning regimen before I go nuts.

Thomas Little, a family law attorney in Flower Mound, has one of those last names that begs to appear in a “cutesy” headline. So, mission accomplished!

There’s nothing small about Little, unless you want to consider Vann, his eight-year-old son who looks suspiciously like a clone of his dad. Not only does Little confirm the clone theory, he even refers to Vann as “a mini me.” They share not only a physical appearance but also sports (Little coaches), love of travel, and a sincere spirit of adventure. Sadly, they also share the loss of wife/mother, Kelsi, who fell victim to cancer when Vann was only two. For Vann, the loss of his mom is simply a fact of life since he was too young to share his father’s sense of heartbreak.

Little’s focus as a teenager was football. He found his way to Texas A&M, where he played football for three seasons while pulling together a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. By then, the thought of becoming an attorney fluttered through Little’s brain. But that’s all it was — a tiny flutter. He had a healthy appetite for experiencing whatever life offered, but that special vista with his “I know what I’m going to do for the rest of my life” niche hadn’t opened yet.

With degree in hand, Little worked one legislative session in the Chief Clerk’s Office of the Texas House of Representatives. He next enlisted in the Army and attended Officer Candidate School. He was stationed in Germany and deployed to Kosovo. That was back when he and three good buddies used one of their leaves to travel to Spain where, with no prior planning, they ran with the bulls at Pamplona.

WHEN JUST A LITTLE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH

by Diane M. Ciarloni | photography by Your Candid Memories (YourCandidMemories.com)

The four compadres used other three Denton in 2015. He hung out his private and four-day breaks to scuba dive in the practice shingle two years ago. Adriatic, Red, and Bali seas along with the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. Now, what does Thomas Little bring to the table as a private practice, family After the Army, Little thought a bit law attorney? more about the legal arena but, even so, he decided to study for an MBA in business, again at Texas A&M. He became a licensed project management professional, spending six years traveling the world as a consultant. That’s how a young, adventurous man from Texas happened to work in Saudi Arabia. He brings the total of all those life experiences. He has tremendous compassion and empathy, learned through the loss of Kelsi and becoming the single parent of a two-year-old toddler. His clients remark on his ability to truly listen to them and to understand. He was a pro at listening.... HIS CLIENTS REMARK ON HIS ABILITY TO It was in those six years TRULY LISTEN TO to his instructor for jumping that Little discovered the THEM AND TO out of airplanes at the U.S. fluttering thought about UNDERSTAND. Army Airborne School, during becoming an attorney had his training to become a tank blossomed into a full-blown passion. platoon commander in Kosovo, for He threw the brakes on everything else, the pounding hooves of bulls in Pamplona pulled out his GI Bill and, at 37, walked and to the garbled words of a twothrough the doors of St. Mary’s University year-old. of School of Law. He married Kelsi and had Vann before taking his bar exam. As a matter of fact, he was studying between trips to and from chemotherapy sessions. One client used all the niceties to describe Little but added, “He can also be a shark!” He no doubt learned shark tactics in his Saudi Arabia dealings and in his other Little passed the bar and began practicing business consulting across the globe. at Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP, in The scuba diving, running with bulls, and celebrating Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, all taught Little to use his spirit of adventure to think outside the typical box.

As a family law attorney, Little deals with a long list of sensitive issues. Divorce. Child custody. Property division. Wills and probate. Spousal support. Mediation. Powers of Attorney. Even adoption. All these are vital, familyrelated, life-changing situations. Little and paralegal, Sharron Dowdle, are acutely aware of the landmines.

“It’s critical that we use a strong moral compass that includes respect and integrity if we intend to earn the best outcome for our clients,” says Little. “That’s why everything we do must be client-focused. Almost everything we deal with is sensitive and delicate, sometimes unpleasant and emotionally charged. That’s why we’re so persistent about making every effort to take the high road.”

Respect, integrity and client focus are three of Little Family Law’s most important building blocks. You can be sure of that and, also: When the client speaks, Little listens.