Tax Time!

Oh dear, it is tax time and I have been avoiding facing this unavoidable misery for as long as possible. Eric's attitude is that it is a privilege to be paying taxes, it means that we are earning money and that is a good thing. I am always frustrated because I never feel that I have enough deductions. I am brutally honest and do not claim anything that I do not have proof of. And my accountant is not creative or slippery, and I get away with nothing. I am always shocked when my patient who makes maybe 30 million dollars a year comes to my office thrilled that he has once again been able to whittle his tax burden to less than I am paying!!!! I am shocked every time I hear it. I do not ask how he does it, it just reminds me that life is not fair.

Tax time is usually a reason to travel to Salt Lake City and ski. My accountant happens to live in Salt Lake and has taken care of my taxes for more than a decade. Spring break for Tara used to be in mid March, so in the past I would take Maya out of school for the week, and we would have a wonderful week of snow and social engagements. We would most often have a huge snowstorm when we arrived, and have powder each day, or the sun would shine furiously for incredible spring skiing. Maya started on skis when she was three years old, as did Tara when we lived in Salt Lake. Tara moved on to snowboarding during her teenage years, but had been moving back to skiing the last couple of years. Maya always insisted on skiing. I absolutely love to ski. I began to ski more seriously when I lived in Salt Lake, and for several years was skiing 30 to 40 days a year. I did not want to leave the city in the winter because I did not want to miss a powder day. Moving to Baltimore was difficult in many ways, but not skiing my 40 days was painful. I do get 7-10 days each season, and I look forward to it all year, and appreciate every moment on the slopes. Evenings are all booked with friends and dinner and catching up socially. A visit to the accountant was always part of the agenda.

This is the first year in 17 that I have not been skiing. The end of the season approaches and it is unlikely that I will have my ski week. And so I am resigned to doing my taxes in my bed in my house in Baltimore. They say there are two sure things in life, death and taxes. That sounds rather awful.