We Interrupt This Blog for an Important Personal Announcement

 

No, I promise this announcement isn't sad, at least to me. It is personal and may not be a big deal to others, but it's a big deal to me.

As of October 28th, I am leaving my employer, Higginson & Paulk, and retiring full-time from accounting.

I've been in accounting for the last 36 years (excluding a few months break where I co-owned a bookstore).  I've been at my current employer for 22 years and about 5 months.

I am 66 years old.  I've been semi-retired for over four years.

It was just time to move on.

I confess.  I don't really like accounting, as any careful reader of this blog might be able to figure out.  I've actually been trying to figure a way out of it since I was 40.  

Why so long in it?  Because as little as I make from it, it's something I can do and contribute to the family income.  I am a true Gemini with a dual nature.  I am a dreamer, but I am also a responsible family man.

Sometimes I wish I wasn't, but I am a person who thrives on high praise. Accounting is not a profession that generates accolades (at least at my level of performance).  This reaffirmed my general low self-esteem.

I have, over the years, tried to balance this with community theatre, which, for me, can be a high praise activity.  I feed off the energy from the audience, and I am charged up by their applause.  One of the things I was grateful about accounting is that it allowed me to have most evenings free to practice and perform in plays.

I would periodically get fed up with my work in recent years, and I would ask Alison, "Can I retire from accounting now?"  She would hem and haw, and even if positive, couch it with caveats.

A few weeks ago, something happened that just made me realize that I had reached my fill mark.  I couldn't do this anymore.  I texted Alison, asking if I could leave yet, and this time she said, "Let me check the numbers." She did so at lunch and then texted me back, "Yes, Tom, Yes, you can!"

Over the next two weeks, as I presented pros and cons, she never hesitated.  She was all-in. I could leave, and we would be fine.

I composed a resignation letter to send to the firm partners.  Before I sent it, I had Alison look it over.  This was her last chance to change my mind.  She quickly approved the letter, and I then did one of the most dramatic things I've done in years - I sent it.

I'll write more later, but I'm still going into the office, and now I need to do that.

I will say that although I'm retiring from accounting, I am not retiring from life.  I have plans and dreams, and hopes.

Will I accomplish them all?  Probably not.

But I will now have the canvas to paint them on.