What is your AQ?

Written & Submitted by: Jamie Harrington, Branch Manager, Homeside Financial, Hickory, North Carolina [And a Mortgage Girlfriend Advisory Board Member]

On May 12, 1998 I received a call from my mom that I had dreaded for nearly two years.  She was frantic.  She couldn’t get my Dad to wake up.  My dad had suffered with heart disease and was struggling with a very poor recovery after surgery.  I was still hopeful he would be well again. 

He was only 63 years old. 

At the time, I owned a local CPA firm and was responsible for preparing weekly payrolls for a furniture factory.  I knew the payroll was owed to the employees the day following my father’s death, so I went into the office that morning and took care of it.  I was surprised when I realized what people were saying.  “How could she show up for work the day after her dad died?  Didn’t she need to be with her mother?”  “Is money the only thing she ever thinks about?”

When the criticism circled back to me, which you know it always does, I was puzzled.  It never occurred to me not to take care of my obligations.