Taxing Day

I always do my own taxes, usually on time, never late. However, having to do my mother's taxes really threw me for a loop. Because she was so ill around the time tax documents were sent out, we weren't paying much attention to what came in the mail. I got an extension, but I didn't have anything to work with. I called the local office of a company she had used to prepare her previous years' taxes, but without income statements, I knew there wasn't much they would be able to do for me. So this morning, I headed downtown to the local IRS office to gather what I needed. Getting the information took only about ten minutes; waiting to get the information took nearly two hours. I'm not good with sitting and waiting. Usually I carry a book or crossword puzzle with me but I don't know why it never crossed my mind I'd have to wait forever. Enter my save-the-day guy, my youngest son. I texted him to ask the name of a game he has on his phone, some kind of crossword thing. He told me and I looked it up, but there was no way I was paying for a game! (He said he had gotten it free. I don't so much mind paying; I don't like to share my bank information with companies I'm not sure about.) So instead, he suggested that we find something we could both download and play. In the end, we played Words with Friends -- which we both already had -- and he kept me busy for the remainder of my wait time.

My appointment at the tax preparer's office was only an hour or so away, too little time to go home and too much time to get there early. I made the mistake of looking the office up on my GPS. I arrived a half hour early -- to the wrong office. When I realized my mistake, I hightailed it over to the right office, necessary paperwork in hand. Two hours -- and $265 -- later, my mother's final taxes had been completed and sent to the IRS. I'm not sure where my brother has his taxes done, but he said it costs only $100. I don't care too much. It's money from the estate -- which will eventually be mine and my brother's -- and if I had known how much it would have cost, I probably would have tried to do it myself. I've done enough. I did all of the estate work, and continue to manage the accounts, myself. I'm just glad it's done. Other than paying any bills related to the upkeep and improvement of my mom's home, and doing taxes for the estate early next year, I have completed my obligation to my mom -- and then some.

My head is pounding; despite my tremendous relief to be finished with the paperwork, I need to lie down. I would prefer to dance a little jig, but that will have to wait until my headache goes away.