If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Fourth Quarter & Year-End 2020

One of my favorite quotes, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” has taken on new meaning in this winter of 2020.  Shelley, the literary poet, penned those words in 1819.

But first, before we “Turn the Page” on 2020 too quickly, a road-weary Bob Seger, the musical poet, penned those words in 1972, let’s pat ourselves on the back for what we have done together to survive the challenges of 2020. 

Every cloud has a silver lining.  See if you recognize yourself in any of these.

– We cancelled dream trips & now we are dreaming of trips to come (Japan, Australia or maybe just to the lake or the beach) but this time without a mask.

– We thought about retiring but instead found out how much we are needed.

– We found new ways to be together when we were required to be apart.

– We consoled, mourned & made difficult caregiving decisions.

– We rediscovered old movies & jigsaw puzzles.

– We cleaned out closets, re-organized & made space for the new in our lives.

– By October it was OK to look at our investment account statements again.

– Spoiler alert: definitely do look at your December statement before filing it away.

– We tackled estate planning projects, revised wills, POAs & beneficiary forms.

– We moved. We remodeled & made sure to have outdoor space.

– We are refinancing mortgages at rates lower than we ever expected to see.

– We adjusted business plans & our teams exceeded expectations.

– We saved money, gave away money & learned that sometimes less is more.

– Some of our kids & grandkids actually got jobs!

– We re-discovered our own resilience. A few of us got our first COVID vaccines.

– We survived.

As the Rolling Stones reminded us in 1968, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.”

Spring is not far behind.

– Phyllis

Author: Senior Vice President Senior Wealth StrategistPhyllis had been associated with W&A for a number of years before joining the firm, acting as a consultant to the company in its formative stage and subsequently as a client. Prior to joining W&A, Phyllis served as Vice President, Corporate Finance at Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. She was involved in all aspects of its investment banking activities, including mergers and acquisitions, valuation studies, and initial public offerings. She earned registrations in NASD Series 7 (Registered Representative) and Series 63 (Blue Sky). Phyllis holds an MBA in Finance as well as M.Ed and BBA degrees from the University of Memphis. She is a Chartered Financial AnalystTM(CFA®) and a Certified Financial PlannerTM(CFP®) Licensee. She is past-Chairman and past-President of the Mid-South Society of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and served on their Board of Directors from 1995 to 2000. During her term as President in 1998, the Mid- South Society of FPA was chosen the Outstanding Society of the Year by the national FPA organization. Her community volunteer activities include MIFA and the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, where she served as Treasurer, Chair of the Finance Committee and currently chairs the Investment Committee. She also serves on the Board of Governors of The Seaside Institute in Seaside, FL.

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