Year End

I believe this is the first time in the New Year that I have had either the opportunity or the inclination to write anything. The first eleven days of 2010 were royally consumed by our jaunt to Boca Raton, Florida where we paraded ourselves (almost painfully at the end) as hedonists of resorts, restaurants and spas. Not unexpectedly, and as so often happens when one tears oneself from homey comforts, we were just as happy to leave and get back to our routine.

That routine of course has included not insignificant attention to the running of the business, which, like a helpless baby, had been abandoned for almost two weeks. Even before we could plunge ourselves into the exigencies of the practice, it was necessary to attend to those matters which related to the year-end and all that that entails, including various reports to the Law Society, not to mention accounting to Her Majesty for the quarterly resources of taxation. Just when we had made it through that unforgiving regiment, there appeared from the depths the forbidding credit card account which always concludes on the 15th of each month, reminding us in no uncertain terms of the extent of our most recent indulgences. More bookkeeping and accounting! In the midst of all that sobering activity (not that my evenings at home were very much more purified than they had been in Florida), we addressed what had to be done regarding real estate conveyancing, annual corporate minutes, estate administration, general consultation and latterly a tedious refinancing, all made the more taxing by an unbearable cough and head cold which I managed to nurture in the last few days in Florida (where the temperatures were historic lows). Finally, we spent an entire day with the Accountant, ruminating upon last year’s records, doing the year-end adjustments, and ultimately completing the internal bookkeeping which had thus far been ignored for January.

With the subsequent ten days under my belt following our return from Florida, and everything being now pretty much "under control", I am at last capable of drawing an unencumbered breath and raising my head from the sand long enough to get my bearings. I confess to having been plagued by all the remorse which so frequently accompanies the exhaustion of Christmas and Holiday festivities, not to mention the blight of New Year’s Resolutions. The dark and gloomy days of January are no inspiration, either. Often in the past fortnight I have asked myself how I can possibly continue to do this another day. I’ll put it down to physical fatigue, the fruits of sickness. Already I am beginning to rally somewhat, satisfied that it was all worth the effort. What, after all, is the alternative?