Concurrently and related, that boy and I got married.
When I told my family and friends later that year that I was going back to school for accounting, they all said the same thing: "But you hate math!" They weren't wrong.
In 2010, when I told my family and friends that I was going back to school for accounting, they all said the same thing: "But you hate math!" They weren't wrong. But before that, when I had asked my new husband if I could go apply to the accounting program at the U of A, he simply said, "Ok. If you're sure that's what you wanna do." That boy I married is good to me.
I began classes in January 2011, accepted the job I most wanted in January 2013, and then graduated with a master of accountancy (with a 4.0 GPA) in May. I loved that job, the people, the environment, and the challenge.
In 2015, when I made the decision to stay home and have babies, I grieved my work. I knew it was the right decision and I have never regretted it, but I was sad. Our first daughter was born in December 2015, and our son joined us less than two years later. I loved being a mom, but I missed the stimulation, the conversations, the teamwork. I didn't miss waking up at 6 a.m. or wearing high heels.
In the fall of 2019, as we were moving into a larger home, I set out to start the world's smallest accounting business. Within a week, I had my first client, and over time, more clients came. My heart was almost full.
In the summer of 2021, our third baby was born, and now my heart is all filled up.
As much as my heart explodes for my family, I truly love my work. I'm thankful for clients who trust me with their growing businesses, and I'm thankful for my family's support as I develop my own little business. My dream is to grow in a way that is beautiful in all seasons - to be evergreen - and to serve my clients well.
When I started college as an undergraduate, it made sense to major in communication. After all, my dream was to be a family and relationship counselor. In my senior year, I was accepted into my top choice biblical counseling program. It was all coming together and my path seemed sure, but only months before graduating, I began to question, well, kind of everything.
Concurrently but unrelated, I met a boy.
Concurrently and related, the economy at that time was spiraling into what we now call The Great Recession. In 2008, for lack of academic aspirations or professional options, I took a job as an administrative assistant. I was overqualified and underpaid, as so many Americans were, and I truly hated both the work itself, and dread and despair slowly and astonishingly turned into my favorite part of the job. I learned to see it as a puzzle, an unraveling of sorts. I learned how to use reports and spreadsheets to convert raw data into usable information. Where I was otherwise intellectually bored out of my ever-loving mind, I found stimulation and challenge. It was fun.