mom: hey, mija, how r u doing honey i don’t know what is going on you’re acting so different so distant i know that your brothers and I aren’t a big part of your family, i still want to know how you are and for you to know that we love you–all I ask is that you tell me how you are.
me: Mom, it’s tax season. I’m working 75 hour weeks. I don’t even talk to my husband.
mom: I love you, mija. God bless u.
I don’t know…you’ve got time to submit this to PFYM, but no time to speak to your mother. OR your husband. Weird.
April 13, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Not weird, FJR you need to get to know an accountant. I totally understand. My husband and I are tax accountants and our families don’t seem to understand it. After past years of nagging us to attend Easter family functions, which is almost impossible, they decided to host one at our house this year. So three days before April 15 they decended upon us and then wondered why we looked so exhausted and short tempered. Maybe the black circles and messy house finally gave them a clue. I doubt it.
April 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm
FJR, you have absolutely no idea what tax accountants go through. You hear 75 hour weeks and you think that’s nothing. HA! Try it sucker then tell me if you have time to talk to your husband or mother. Just FYI, there’s 168 hours in the week. When you are a tax accountant you dedicated 75-80 minimum to your work. You try to sleep a few hours during the week so there goes at least 42 hours of the week. You have to eat so that’s a minimum 30 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes for dinner, so there goes another 7 hours. Now that leaves you 44 hours for the week and thats at the most. I didn’t even mention bathing, doing laundry, cleaning the house, or going to the store. Try to fit your family in that time frame. You are wore the hell out by the end of the week and the last thing you want to do is talk to anyone. You try to sleep when you can, or you try to take care of the little things that you put off. Forget having a social life for those few months, actual forget having any kind of life. It’s tough. I understand not talking to your mom. You try to make time and for some it’s not enough.
April 13, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I agree with the accountants. One of my friends works only the tax season and she basically says, “Don’t call, don’t write, don’t expect me to be coherent for 4 months”. But she gets a big party when tax season is over :)
April 13, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Oh, truer words!
FJR – if mom and husband were online – they might get a quick post too – seeing how those 75 hours a week one is chained to one’s desk. I don’t know why anyone would WANT to talk to me now. I’m dreaming taxes.
April 13, 2009 at 5:58 pm
This could have happened awhile ago and now tax season is winding down!!!
April 13, 2009 at 6:33 pm
This mom sounds just like my grandma. Just reading it makes me feel guilty!
April 13, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I like to imagine the “god bless u” at the end is “god bless you for crunching all of those numbers so other people don’t have to”. ^_-
April 14, 2009 at 11:17 am
Not saying she’s not swamped. I do actually get that. Just wondering why it became important to stop, two days before the tax deadline, in the middle of all the busy-ness, to submit the convo to PFYM.
April 14, 2009 at 12:59 pm
My question is to the accountants, why would you put yourself and your family thru that kind of hell? You must be making REALLY big bucks to sacrifice your social life and your family for a JOB. What about priorities? What about the time missed with wife and kids that you will never get back? Before you know it the kids are gone and you wonder, what happened? Where did the time go? The answer is, you spent it all at WORK. I feel sorry for your family.
April 14, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Wow, JeffreyG, I’ve never thought of it that way!
How much time does your job allow YOU off, Jeffrey? Did you know that most CPAs get comp time for those 80 hour weeks that allow them weeks off at the time during the summer?
Do YOU take weeks off in the summer JefferyG? How many? Just one? How can you put your family through that? What about all the summer vacations the nerdy CPAs are taking with their families? What about all the time your kids spend at the pool…without YOU?
Family v/s career is important, but with certain career paths, there are certain standard expectations, and SOMEBODY has to do all those tax returns. Don’t be so judgemental of other people’s choices.
April 14, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Well put Millie. We do get a ton of time off in the summer.
April 14, 2009 at 5:07 pm
JeffreyG –
I do it because while I’m swamped from 2/15 – 4/14 (today is actually kind of slow…) I’ll have tons of time off over the summer to spend time with my family, travel, etc.
I work hard so I can play hard.
April 15, 2009 at 11:50 am
I was a tax CPA for several years and do not miss the long, long hours of tax season. But I do miss the April 15th parties my firms used to throw! ;)
April 15, 2009 at 4:34 pm