I woke up this morning at 6 a.m. to hit the road for a speed walking session with my sister-in-law, got the ironing board and iron set up for my husband, assembled lunches for my SIL and my husband, made breakfast and coffee, enjoyed my breakfast and coffee while it was still hot (so rare!!!), tended to the baby's diaper and breakfast needs, cubed a cantaloupe, then sat for a minute and whimsically decided that downstairs would get a deep clean treatment and laundry would be folded and put away in a timely manner since I'm caught up on all of the washing and drying as of last night. Dotted through this would be supermom sessions of homeschooling in which my kids would diligently learn and enthusiastically recite their lessons. All of this before 8 a.m.
Some days, I really think I have it together!
But then, true to form, Lady Reality swooped in with her billy club of truth and hit me upside my head in a way that was sobering and sickening. On my schedule, I picked today to do our taxes.
Just like that, the Disney-like feeling of dancing sunshine and helpful woodland creatures was crushed by the anvil of government stuffs. I can see clearly their mangled cartoon bodies broken and twisted as the life is crushed out of them... and my soul doth empathize.
I already have episodes of white hot rage when I see how they scalp my husband's paycheck every month (nearly 20%!!!), but now I get to deal with ridiculous codes and regulations and write-offs to see what pathetic amount they oh-so-graciously give back or, in the state's case, how much we still owe. In order for this to happen, Hurricane Louis must be kept happy and fed with minimal help from me (I get unreasonably cranky when interrupted during tax time), the baby must be kept happy and fed (thank the Lord God that he's got a decent array of table foods that he likes, so boob time will be minimal), and the three older kids have to take charge of the bare minimum chores that must be done to keep me from going insane. As filler, the TV will likely be doing a decent amount of babysitting today.
Maybe I can grasp desperately at the supermom homeschooling aspect if I make sure the TV is nothing but Discovery Channel programs on human history, space, and rain forests. That counts, right?
It's times like these that I like to let my eyes glaze over and think about what we could do with the return money. A weekend trip to New England or Myrtle Beach? New flooring? New bedding for the whole family? A wardrobe update? Paining the house? Framing that picture I bought for John years ago?
Ah, here comes Lady Reality again. She looks like she's going to enjoy this particular attack. BOOM. Oh, that's right, we'll be needing a newer car very shortly. We still have student loans to pay off. The flashing on the left side of the roof needs to be reattached. We need a bigger fridge and a new dryer. If we're lucky, any return will help lessen the blow. We'll see.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh... Well, I guess I'd better get to it then. It isn't going to be any less soul-crushing if I wait any longer.
Edit: It's finished. It took me two hours, including a break to feed the kids and myself. I ordered pizza for them and I had some chopped chicken in broccoli slaw. Now I want beer and a cheesecake. But at least it's done. The Feds were kinder to us this year. And, for once, the state owes us! One singular dollar. High roller, over here!
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