The tax man cometh

Now, most people noted that today is Martin Luther King Day, the day when we remember that great civil rights leader and honor his day of birth and his life and legacy. I, too, am grateful for this man and for his fight for equality for all. I celebrate with the kids, enjoying a day off school to remember this man. But mid-January also brings another perennial occasion: TAX TIME.

Today I went down to the tax office and saw some friends I only see between January and April. I gazed at the phone which will become a fixture to my ear in the coming weeks (at least on Mondays). I looked at the rows of file cabinets, knowing that soon they would be crammed with 2005 tax returns, while 2003 returns would be shredded. (2004 remains in the file till next year). I let my fingers glide across the keyboard where I'll type notes of clients, all clamoring to see The Man, aka Jeff, my brother-in-law, the accountant.

The fax machine, the desk, the phone, the postal machine--they are all there as they were last year. (Well, postage has gone up.) But things change every tax year--there are new laws, new clients, new questions. The day goes fast, for which I'm grateful, but it often seems I can't get enough done--there is always filing to be finished, phone calls to return, notes to pass on to Jeff, etc. etc.

But being busy during tax season has it's upside too. When we lift our heads from the computers, phones and paperwork, we find that daylight savings time has arrived, robins have returned, and the snow is mostly gone--sometimes temperatures even soar to 60 degrees (but not too often). Spring has sprung by April 15, (this year April 17) and we rejoice that we survived another tax season.

But before we can enjoy the end of tax season, we take a day or two to rest and recuperate. Spring has to wait while sleep takes over.

I'm getting ahead of myself, however. I'll gear up now for taxes, look forward to meeting new people and getting reacquainted with old, and keep Kleenex on my desk for those who owe big time and didn't know it.

Of course, it's always fun to celebrate with those who get unexpected refunds. Funny, though, they never seem to share their fortune with those of us at the tax office....

Till next time,


Suzi