“Forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal.” Phil 3:13-14
Three days after my youngest child was born, I found out that the bank I worked for had been sold. The bank that purchased it offered me a job, but I had to relocate to North Carolina where they had the headquarters. I was not willing to do that since I had three small children and all my family was in Miami. Therefore, I decided to venture out on my own. That was almost thirty years ago.
This week, I closed my accounting office. It’s the end of what I consider the third major chapter of my life. The first one was my childhood and teenage years. During that chapter, I was a student. The second chapter was the start of my marriage, the early years of motherhood, and the beginning of my career. In the third chapter, I saw my kids fly from the nest to become independent adults. During this chapter, my accounting practice also grew tremendously. Now, I’m ready to start the fourth and final chapter, which I hope brings lots of time to spend with my husband traveling while visiting our kids and grandkids who are spread out between North Carolina and New York. I also hope it opens the door to do something worthwhile with whatever time I have left here on earth.
Last year, I read a book titled “The Fourth Quarter of your Life: Embracing What Matters Most” by Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly. It made me stop and reflect. How do I want to spend the final chapter of my life? Do I want to spend it accumulating more or do I want to spend it enjoying what I have already accumulated? The answer was easy, but turning the page has been more difficult than I anticipated. It was almost like the evil one wanted to keep me from retiring.
What began thirty years ago with just one client, has grown exponentially. Last year, I prepared over 600 tax returns. I had a solid practice, and I decided to sell it. And that’s when the fun began. Every unimaginable obstacle got on my way, and everything that I had planned crumbled. But God always has a better plan. When all the doors closed in my face, He opened a wider and much better door.
It’s been bittersweet saying goodbye to clients that have been with me for three decades. Many times, I was more than their accountant. They would come to my office, drink a cafecito, and we would talk about more than numbers. Sometimes, I felt like I was their psychiatrist because they would spill all their troubles. And I was happy to lend an ear, even if I couldn’t resolve all their issues.
I thought I would be fully finished by now, but God wanted me to savor the end of the third chapter just a little bit longer. And that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m starting the fourth one, but I’m not jumping from one to the next. I’m waltzing slowly into the last chapter, while still savoring the final pages of the previous one. And I have no regrets.
Copyright © 2024 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
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