Taxing Afternoon

We knew that we’d lose an hour’s sleep to the onset of daylight’s savings time, so heading to bed before 1030pm the night before seemed even more like the prudent thing to do. I woke once around 5:30am and then again around 7:00am. At that point, I promised myself one more crack at sleep. I didn’t wake again until 9:15am. As I crawled out of bed, Mindy hardly budged. I left her sleeping. I prepped a pot of coffee then quietly went about my exercise routine. Soon, I was out walking with Ykraps. It was warm – 63 degrees -but the sky completely overcast. Still, it was very spring-like. I could easily detect ‘green-up’ occurring after just a couple of warm days. I spent the remainder of the morning downloading/editing pictures from the night before and surfing the net. Mindy didn’t get up until almost 11am. We shared some coffee time and chatted about the day’s events, but not for long. I wanted to complete my run. Once again, I chose to wear running pants, a long-sleeved wicking shirt, and a ball cap. I ran along Trabue & Hague again today. Traffic was very light. I picked up someone’s errant golf drive resting along hole #1 on Trabue. It was a Titleist ProV1. Unless I am mistaken, that’s a $4 golf ball. I pocketed it and kept running. And just to be clear, there were no golfers currently on the hole. The ball had been abandoned. I find and pocket a ball almost every time I do that route. Mindy was already in the shower when I returned from my run. I already knew she planned to go grocery shopping. She invited me along but I declined citing a desire to get started on our taxes. I planned to use TurboTax this year, in part because I get a 20% discount. Before getting started, I made myself a tasty roast beef, pastrami, and cheese sandwich. I spent the first 30 minutes entering all of our basic data. And when Mindy finally came down ready to leave for the grocery, I asked for the Westside Free Store receipts I knew she had stashed. She asked me to vacuum the downstairs in her absence. Even though I was working on the taxes, I figured it would be a good diversion/break at some point. It didn’t take all that long to complete our tax return. We’re getting back a return similar to last year’s. I chose not to use TurboTax to complete our State return. That’s how they make their money. It costs more than the Fed filing. Instead, I used the State’s free website. The down side to that decision was having to reenter all the W-2 data again, but that didn’t take that long. The kids returned form their weekend with Jimaken just a few minutes before Mindy returned from the grocery. I still wasn’t done with the taxes. I asked for a bye on the carry-in. I didn’t want to stop working. I still had to do the e-file thing and then print off a copy. I was done by 3:00pm. And just like last year, we have to pay the state. But I won’t write that check until the week that they’re due (Easter week). After completing our taxes, I headed up for a much needed shower. I was flabbergasted by the late hour. It was practically time to leave for Sunday dinner already. Where had the day gone? It felt more like noon, but it was nearly 4pm. By the time I finished my shower and returned downstairs, it was time to go. Mindy had already corralled the kids. We’d be doing Sunday dinner without Rocky & Landon. The plan called for us to pick them up on our way home from dinner. We arrived around 4:30pm. We spent the first hour visiting but finally sat down to dinner at 5:40pm. We had cheeseburgers. I ate two. We must’ve sat at the dinner table until after 6:30pm. We eventually made our way back to the livingroom where we shared stories for about 30 plus minutes before dessert time. Dessert consisted of apple pie and chocolate cup cakes. I opted for the pie. Good choice. It was delicious. We didn’t leave Gloria’s until almost 8pm. Like the entire day, time got away from us. Mindy called Lindsey once we were in the Honda to let her know that we were on our way to get the boys. The pick-up went smoothly. Lindsey had them pretty much ready by the door. The exchange is much less dramatic than it was initially, before we had a set routine. The kids seem good with it, just as Mindy predicted they would. We were home by 8:15pm. We all knew what to expect. Mindy took Rocky & Landon up for a bath mostly to remove the animal stench. I, in turn, headed out withYkraps who had been waiting patiently for our return. After returning home, I hurried upstairs to help Mindy get all the kids bed ready after their baths. That included teeth brushing and the actual tuck in. Landon went down easy. Mindy worked on work/school lunch prep. It was almost 9pm by the time we were able to relax. We headed to bed at 10pm.