The Barrister Fall 2017 - 15

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diving so much. "It's an escape," says
Matt. "The practice of family law can be
very stressful. You can have a client that
is very unsatisfied even though you know
you got them a good result under the
circumstances."
"You need to find something else
outside of practicing law to remain sane,"
Becky adds, "or else life passes you by."
We talk about how, with modern
technology, you no longer work a 9 to 5
schedule; you are on-call 24/7. "You have
clients that email you at 9:00 pm, and in
order to keep yourself and your practice
competitive you have to answer those 9:00
pm emails because you know that others
are," Becky says as one of their paralegals
knocks on the door and asks her to review
something quickly.
"It's a quality of life issue, and that's one
of the hardest realities about the practice of
law nowadays," Matt says. "A lot of people
are focused on billable hours and making
money, but you have to be able to make
time for you."
Becky obtained her scuba diving license
last year. Matt obtained his while he was
in the Marines but joined her during her
training to refresh his scuba diving skills.
Now, they plan their vacations around their
shared hobby and, from how they describe
it to me, scuba diving has an almost
therapeutic quality to it.
"You have to balance practicing law
with something that takes you away, and
that's the one thing about scuba diving,"
says Matt. "When you are down there you
are a visitor, and not only are you a visitor,
you are the slowest thing down there. You
are at everybody's mercy. It is a completely
different world and it takes you out of your
comfort zone which is good because it is
challenging. It takes you away from the
reality that you have, it makes you forget
about deadlines and clients and judges, and
you have to learn to focus on the moment."
As we talk more, I learn they have dived
during the night with only a flashlight
to explore the ocean. They have explored
sunken ships on the ocean floor and they
have videos to prove it. Becky's phone
is full of Instagram-worthy pictures of
their travels. They have now become
what the youth nowadays would tag as
"#relationshipgoals."
When I asked how long they've been
married, without missing a beat, Matt looks
at Becky and says he defers this question to
her. "Five years in July," she says, and there's

that laugh again. Matt asks when exactly,
and she reminds him it was July 6. He
shrugs and says he still believes it to be in
October. I find myself confused and amused
by this little exchange, and I asked when
exactly was the wedding: July or October?
"July 6, 2012," says Becky, laughing.
Matt, in what I've come to realize
is his way, is quick to offer me a logical
explanation. He confesses he is horrible at
remembering anniversaries, but he recalls
they started dating around Halloween and
unilaterally decided to pick October 31 to

be their all-encompassing anniversary date.
One can look at this method of thinking
two ways: it is either lazy or genius. I
personally believe it to be the latter.
And that is what summarizes them:
they go with what works. It's practical
and fun and allows them to concentrate on
what really matters: living their lives to the
fullest.
Ana T. López Vives is the Community
Service Manager for the Berks County
Bar Association.
Fall 2017 | 15
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The Barrister Fall 2017

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