That Time of Year

I'm not sure who would be keeping score, but I may have to miss a couple of blog days in the next few weeks. December is the fiscal close out of my corporation. It is always a cloud over the holidays when we have to prepare for the government to take whatever cash is left at the end of the year. It will be a scavenger hunt this time.

Neel DeWulf has been our bookkeeper for a decade. She is a beautiful French lady who would quietly come to the house and make all the QuickBook numbers work for the CPA's. Our family was trained to give her a double cheek kiss when she would arrive. The boys adored her and she even house/baby sat for us several times when Sandi and I were both gone on a trip.

Neele was an accomplished artist and a musician. Her paintings were displayed in a couple of galleries and when she played our piano it would breath with her talents. She used to make comments on some my artwork that might be left out. I have to admit, sometimes I would purposefully leave a sketch lying around for her to find just to get a comment. Even when she thought my subject matter was a little depressing her beautiful accent would make the comment sound like a compliment. We would talk about art and music in between the questions about whether a dinner on the Amex was business or pleasure.

She would fix some tea for herself when she arrived and became a regular part of our family. She was not a Mac user and I had to be "the techy" for her sometimes. It was usually an easy problem to solve but she thought I was a Mac genius. The best part is when she had to reconcile a statement with a lot of numbers. Neele would talk to herself, in French. There were several times I thought she was conversing with one of the wooden children that also occupied the office. She once asked if that bothered me. I said of all the people not to be bothered by someone talking to themselves it would be me.

Neele was in her 40's when she passed away from breast cancer this summer. It was sudden. I was in London when we found out. The work she would have done has been piling up and it has fallen to me to get it all in shape by next week. As I dug in this week I found notes she left in the files. Little clues to lead me in the right direction. It is difficult to come to this time of year and not have her around.

We miss you Neele, and you will be happy to know that I am talking to myself while trying to do your work.
As you were,
Jay