beBetter 

The COVID-19 pandemic sped the development of some hard trends that will change the view of our profession in the future. In the latest AICPA Journal of Accountancy, I shared my mantra for the year — More with Less — and why accountants should consider it our rallying cry.

Having the intent for HORNE and myself to make a difference during this time of social unrest, I wanted to share my prayer with you. Only with an intentional sense of belonging that provides each of us the safe place to share will we make the progress we all desire. It’s not one huge step. It’s lots of small steps, prayers and conversations every day that will turn the tide on individual and systemic racism. Together we can #beEvenBetter every day. Let’s not only pray together—let’s make progress together. 

In this time of social unrest, I’ve pondered what to say to our team, what to say to you, and I choose to err on the side of “not getting it entirely right” rather than remaining silent. Racism is a problem that we continue to struggle with as a nation. And it’s everyone’s problem. Each of us are also part of the solution.

What a joy it is visiting with my Mom in celebration of Mother’s Day. We are trying to distance physically, but we are both huggers so after a thorough sanitizing, we are both smiling from our quick hug.

I have mentioned before that Pop Joe and Mom follow my blog and she’s quick to express an opinion or ask a question. So as we sit spaced around the kitchen table she asks, “How did your new toy work?“ What is she referring to? “What do you mean, Mom?” “Your new fish finder, you wrote about it in your blog a couple of weeks ago. How did your fish finder work?” “Oh, Haha, it works great.” 

“Ouch! Oh goodness,” I’m thinking as I slide out of bed trying not to wake CeCe. She is not too fond of early morning chit chat. My back is killing me and as I ease into the bathroom, I realize CeCe was right, again.

She warned me not to go to camp by myself yesterday. “You need someone to help you, Joey. You are not 30 anymore… or 40… or 50.” Whew, that hurt! But all I could think about was the urgency to get my new limestone spread around the cabin and driveway before it sets up into a hardened state like my head.

I’m reaching for my gumbo pot to pour in my sautéed vegetables for my favorite duck gumbo recipe and it’s GONE! I know I just put it on the counter after boiling the duck breasts. Have I gone completely crazy? It takes a couple of days of doing various tasks to make gumbo and today, I get to put it all together. YUM!

I’m as excited as a six-year-old anticipating Santa Claus the next morning. For my Christmas and anniversary gift, I got a new Livescope on my boat (which is the latest in sonar radar for fishing). They finished the install on Friday and I’ve just launched the boat into one of my favorite crappie lakes, Eagle Lake. The breeze is stiffer than forecast so I pull over to the side of the lake where I have a little protection.

Looking into the freezer, I’m excited to see my canister of homemade chocolate peanut butter bars are right on top — probably because I was standing at this exact place last night, too, while CeCe was in the back of the house. They taste better when I sneak a few as CeCe likes to “encourage” me to meet my weight goal.

It’s silent on our nine-person zoom call as one of our partners, Bruce, shares very relevant insights with us. We are (again) experiencing that uncomfortable quiet where no one feels compelled to speak up. Crickets! I think this happens more than we want to admit in our new virtual communication world.

Just last night as I was straightening up our outside sitting area, I noticed CeCe had put out a new “thing.” CeCe likes to decorate and honestly, just between us, she is very talented with finding these “things” she accessorizes the house with. I laughed as I strolled by and glanced up to see our new sign: CLOSED.

CeCe and I are sitting outside next to the fireplace, entertaining some close friends pre-social distancing. It’s pretty chilly tonight with a strong north wind so I have the fireplace roaring. In my feeble attempt to dress a little hip, tonight, I reached on my top shelf of shoes and pulled out my retro Cole Haan boots. 

Entering the restroom, my eyes are immediately locked on this image and I can’t stop staring at it. This visual is cemented in my mind, and I walk out of the restroom with a new realization: we are officially in panic mode. It is showing up in different ways, but it is showing up in everything we are doing and experiencing.

A few weeks ago on a full flight from Dallas, TX, to Jackson, MS, it was so hot, I began to sweat. You’ve probably felt that stuffy, hot and uncomfortable feeling where you realize you are not going to be cool anytime soon. Yet it turned out this uncomfortable feeling was the least of my problems.