My Incredible Husband Has Taken Over The Taxes!!

 I am blessed beyond measure this afternoon.  My husband took one look at me trying to figure out how or even if a particular tax credit applies to me, saw the stress on my face and has now taken over doing all the rest of the tax forms for us both.  This is almost a miracle because of his health holding up today to do all this work, research, straightening out of things, printing off worksheets and such to fill out by hand as it is easier for both of us to not have a computer screen ruining our eyes day after day....my dry eye just can't take doing much more than a half hour of screen time at a time with a couple of hours of break in between, so no online filing after all.  When my husband has the rough copies completed, hopefully by this evening, I will put the numbers in my good copy, write up a cheque for what I am going to owe and get it mailed away on Monday.  Last year of doing our taxes on our own.  Things have changed too much, both for our finances and in terms of new things in the annual tax forms. Done, over and out for this woman!!!  I am done talkin' bout it, bloggin' bout it, thinkin' bout it!  Amen!!!  For those of you who have been asking and praying for our sanity during this process and for my husband's health to hold up through this otherwise possibly not so complicated event, yes, I will quickly blog to let you know when they have been mailed.

It is cold today and getting colder as the afternoon wears on. The snow that was melting in the sun on our deck and front porch earlier this afternoon is now frozen back into an icy coating that is dangerous to try to walk on.  The wind gusts are kind of strong at times so the snow is blowing straight across the back lawn from south to north. It looks like someone has taken a thick paintbrush of white paint and dragged a line of it between the ground and about a foot upward....just a solid white line of blowing snow right across the back yard. Talk about a late spring.  

Not sure how much the weather is playing into my inability to understand my tax forms, but I was kind of worried earlier today. Apparently the loss of ability with numbers is one of the first signs of dementia, BUT as my husband kindly pointed out, it isn't the numbers or the adding and multiplying of them that are hindering me, it is understanding exactly where they are to go on some of the not quite so well explained forms.  I remember when my parents had to start taking their taxes to an accountant each year. It was like it was the end of the world for them to have to admit they were struggling to understand the "new ways" of the time and now I understand exactly how they felt.

Tomorrow morning there is a women's breakfast at our church. I think I will go as a good friend is talking about her experiences walking the Camino in Italy....or is it Portugal?  It was some time ago now and I forget, so I am looking forward to hearing of her adventures. She was supposed to be sharing the speaking time with our wonderful Carol who has also done a Camino walk or two in recent years, but of course Carol is not yet strong enough to even attend, let alone speak to the group.  After lunch my husband will go for a wee drive around with me to pick up a prescription and also a book he has had on reserve at the public library that has become available.  He needs to finish final preparations for the adult class he is teaching at church on Sunday morning and is feeling more confident now that he has some useful protocols in place for keeping his tummy issues at bay. He won't be so stressed about having that commitment to fulfill.  YAY!

I am reading the Scriptures at church on Sunday: excerpts from the first Chapter of Isaiah, Psalm 103 and Matthew 18. (the parable of the unforgiving servant, which always grabs my attention and makes me think about how I am treating people in my own life)  It is always nice to have something to do at church during the service so I feel less generally useless there.  So grateful and honoured to be included in anything they want to throw my way.....being a newbie on their seniors' residences  board is another way I can feel useful for one term at least.  Waiting for more information from the board chairman before our first meeting together coming up in several week's time. 

I think this evening I am going to rest up with a book I am reading about three generations of women in China.  There is a ton of interesting history there from the years prior to the Communist party formation, the previous Kuomintang leadership,  the invasion by Japan....and how these various events effected the author's family members living there at that time.  I am finding the history incredibly interesting. The book is called "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" and it was written by Jung Chang.  The print is small and I can only read for about an hour a day....or right before falling asleep at night, so it is slow going, but at least that way I remember more of the details.

Okay, my eyes have had enough screen for now.  Hope all of you have a truly wonderful weekend and that the weather, wherever you are right now is warm and wonderful.