Tax Day!
Hello, it's April 15th. And if you live in the U.S., you know what that means - it's tax day. Even though I've had my taxes "done" for a little while now, I procrastinated in mailing them. So earlier today I joined the crowd of people standing in line at the Post Office to get them mailed out before the midnight deadline.
Generally if people are surprised by something like an unbelievably long line at the post office, it can make them crabby. But when it's expected, on a day like today, it's somehow not so bad. There was actually is a kind of camaraderie among all of the people who had waited until the last day to mail our taxes. And local businesses were all offering special deals and free things today.
My favorite bakery is giving away free blue velvet cupcakes and many national chains are doing something similar - for instance there's still time left today to get a free cup of coffee from Starbucks if you bring in a reusable mug, or free cupcakes from Cinnabon this evening.
It's the Mary Poppins idea about a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down (in the most delightful way, no less). After seeing that movie when I was a kid, I remembered that sugar part the next time I was sick. I presented a very lawyer-like argument to my mother that if Mary Poppins endorsed the idea of eating a spoonful of sugar with your medicine then it really wasn't so crazy. She said that medicine didn't come in bubblegum flavor back when that movie was made.
But today, standing there in line that wasn't moving, drinking free coffee and eating free cupcakes as I waited for my turn to send off a painfully large check to the government, I felt okay. Just another reminder that in every bad thing, in every situation you're dreading, you can find small ways to reward yourself and sweeten the experience along the way.
-Brigitte
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Comments
Eric Jaffa Thursday, April 15, 2010
Your mother refused to let you eat a spoonful of sugar after taking your medicine?
romeo Thursday, April 15, 2010
taxes are like tithing..... nobody knows why people do it. evidently -some say not even god knows why really. may be it's a fascination with a semblance of civility to help perpetuate the facade.
how?
-fear is used to motivate children.
-toxic relationships define intimacy.
-abuse is rationalized and tolerated.
~these days a prenupt is often times relegated as a romantic gesture.
and a word of honor debased to a mere novelty.
has love become a function of the mind in file format?
the only thing still with a certain degree of authenticity and purity is our freedom to have dreams and to abide by the measure of our own truth.
someday taxes will be measured by gravity in newtons .2059
and a woman's honesty measured by how far she can leap without looking
Joe436 Friday, April 16, 2010
I filed my taxes electronically this year for the first time. They haven't cashed my check yet so I'm still a little worried. What if someone at the IRS spilled coffee on their keyboard right as my return was being transmitted to them and now it's lost forever. They'll think I didn't file. Tall men in dark suits and sunglasses waving badges will show up at work asking for me. I don't want to go to jail. Who will water my plants?
Maybe I shouldn't have had that free cup of coffee.
Will Friday, April 16, 2010
We dont have that here in the UK :( Probably a good thing though cause coffee and cupcakes are my main weaknesses
Blargal Friday, April 16, 2010
Hello,Brigitte.
Fortunately,or perhaps sadly, Rhode Island gets a slight extension on the deadline, due to the flooding we experienced. I do wonder, if All local Starbucks will repeat the freebie, next month, when we REALLY have to give unto obama...