Now that the holidays are over, the Skidmore family is entering into a period of time that is commonly referred to as the "Busy Season". I know what you're thinking, and I wish you were correct; unfortunately, it aint not that kind of gettin' busy.
Rather it's the time of year when I and my fellow CPAs retire to our nerderies only to emerge in late April, pale, malnurished, but no longer busy. It is the time of year when we call to action our 10-key skills and our spreadsheet skills and are forced to interact with other humans.
Some accountants refer to this time of year as the "harvest season", but those accountants are usually the accounting firm owners. For them this time is, in fact, the period of time when they bring in around 75% of their annual income. That is great for them, I am very happy for them. But for me and others like me, this is the time of year when our hourly rate gets dangerously close to that of minimum wage: we get paid the same, but work twice as much. This is the time of year when free time is sparce and usually reserved for laundry, paying bills, conjugal visits and other maintenance related tasks. This is the time of year when my caffeinated soda consumption spikes and shut-eye time dives. This is the time of year when my wife wonders (more often than she normally does), why she married a CPA.
We take some solice in that January is nearly over and only 3 months remain of this craziness. In the meantime we are going to try to pace ourselves and get through this busy season and, when we can, enjoy a few quite moments. Who knows...maybe in a few more years we can begin to call this time our harvest season, but until then its all about just getting busy.
