Life Lessons from My CPA

About a year ago my husband and I found ourselves sitting in our CPA’s office with worry written all over our face. No, it wasn’t tax time. We were there to ask for advice- financial guidance. At that point, you couldn’t turn on the television without hearing all about the housing issue in America. Well, we were part of that housing issue. We did what so many other people in America had done- bought a home we couldn’t afford on the advice of our trustworthy (hmm hmm) mortgage provider. We found ourselves covered in debt with a cute little house we couldn’t afford. We stayed up many nights with worry wondering what we could possibly do to dig ourselves out of this hole. Unfortunately our sleepless nights did not take away any of the debt. Our house was on the market already but not selling. We were stuck.

So we made an appointment to see our CPA- hoping that he would give us some kind of magical solution, or at the very least, provide us with some options. And, in fact, we got some of the very best advice from him that day- advice that I actually think about daily. He listened to the two of us ramble on and on about our situation. He sat quietly as we unloaded every financial problem we could think of that was lingering behind our cute red front door. And at the end, he said, “First of all, I want you both to take a breath. This is going to be okay.”

Really? How did he think this was going to be okay? How could we possibly ever be okay again with this debt and the house and the lack of promised raises from my husband’s teaching job and on and on and on? But he said clearly, “Take a breath. This is going to be okay.” And with those words, my husband and I both sat back in those hard, wooden chairs in his office and took a breath. We stopped worrying for just a moment and allowed ourselves to feel that is was going to be alright. We didn’t know how, we didn’t know when, and, honestly, we are still working it all out a year later. But that day we both saw a glimmer of hope and a moment of relief.

How odd that this man- someone we met with once a year to work on our taxes (who also, by the way, had called to check on some tax information while I was in labor with our second child and I answered and talked to him!) helped us take a step back and realize that this too will pass. We hadn’t trusted ourselves enough to do that on our own. We were too busy worrying and beating ourselves up for the poor decisions we had made. So our kind certified public accountant threw us a life preserver. He didn’t fix the problem, but he helped us to stop spinning and start breathing again.

So to you I say, take a breath. Whatever struggle you face- this too is going to be okay. Pass it on.