Taxes

Every year around February, Grandma Flo and I start coordinating our schedules to get together for tax season.  It is always a busy time of year, and to be honest, it ends up as another item on my "to do" list to get checked off.  But, every year, after the 3 or so hours that I spend in Grandma Flo's back room pouring through all of her paperwork for the year, I leave with a deep sense of thankfulness.

I think there is an honesty that comes between people when they are looking through finances.  There are no secrets.  There is nothing that can be hidden.  This immediately puts us in a very straightforward state of mind.  We talk about her life....and we talk about her death.  We talk about her hopes for the future, and memories of hopes in her past.  But most importantly, I learn so much about this wonderful gift of a woman and her life.  There is something new to know each and every year.

I am always amazed as I search through all of the check registers and credit card receipts of my 90 year old grandmother.  Among my favorite charges are the ones in languages from all over the world.  As I look for tax write offs, I am entertained by stories of trips here and there, how she stays with friends that she knows from previous travels, sketches on cruise ships and sits at the captain's table, is worshipped in a small Italian villiage as she is introdued as "Grandmother".  She shows me sketches, like they are photographs, of places she loved and memories that she recalls.  These precious pieces of art are mingled in with receipts, credit card offers and phone bills.  We talk about purchases, which lead to more memories, of her husband, of her 4 kids....stories upon stories....that I would never have heard, had it not been for taxes.

So this year, I would like to say, that I am thankful for taxes.