A legal professional mental health series by LCA Senior Fellow Don Blackwell of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial, LLC, in Miami, Florida
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Abraham Lincoln
I didn’t always believe in angels,
let alone believe they walk among us.
But I do now.
Because I know one.
I’ve held her hand,
played with her,
sung silly songs with her,
read books with her,
watched Pete the Cat videos with her on Lollipop,
shared meals with her,
built Duplo towers with her,
been to the beach with her,
played hide & seek with her,
and hugged her.
I’ve watched the way she greets the day,
and how peacefully she says “goodbye” to it.
I’ve studied how she moves through the world,
and how far removed she is from it – and it from her.
I’ve stood in envy at her open-heartedness, the fearlessness with which she approaches complete strangers,
the warmth and curiosity with which she engages with them,
and the unpretentious way she invites them in.
I’ve seen her brighten the most dower of dispositions,
and catalyze smiles that break like a sunrise across the faces of countless others.
Make no mistake.
She’s every bit of 2.
She can pitch a fit with the best of them.
But it is the well-spring of joy in her heart and the Eveready-Battery-Bunny way she loves that distinguish her, and have from her first breath.
She IS love.
This past Saturday, we went to the beach,
and then to a local restaurant for a late lunch.
By the time we arrived, she could barely keep her eyes open.
But that didn’t stop her from greeting half a dozen guests (and dogs!) on the way to our table, playing a quick game of Peek-A-Boo with a little boy at the table next to us, or cheerfully introducing herself to our server.
As the young woman completed our order and walked away,
Macie turned to me and said simply, but quite enthusiastically,
“SO MANY NEW FRIENDS!”
which left me wondering whether, once upon a time, before the world took hold of us, we too were angels?
I think we were.
And I’m just naive enough to believe we can be again!
LCA Senior Fellow Don Blackwell is a Partner in the Florida offices of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial, LLC. Don is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University, St. Thomas University, and the University of Miami. He is an outspoken mental health advocate, and the author of numerous feature articles that have appeared in various local, state, and national legal publications. Don’s first book, "Dear Ashley ..." - A Father's Reflections and Letters to His Daughter on Life, Love and Hope, is a compilation of life lessons learned in the midst of his daughter's decade-long struggle with a life-threatening illness. Since its publication, Don has written and spoken extensively on issues relating to mental health, eating disorders, compassionate professionalism, and the need for greater civility in the legal profession, all of which has made Don a highly sought after guest on webinars and podcasts tackling those increasingly critical subjects. In 2020, Don organized and hosted the “Legacy of Hope Summit” - a first of its kind symposium attended by more than two dozen highly-respected experts in the eating disorder field aimed at arriving at a blueprint for the path forward in the care and treatment of those insidious illnesses. Don’s second book, Retune Your Heart, was released in June of 2025.
