A Trip to the CPA's Office

It's tax time.

I didn't know this trip to the CPA's office could turn out to be a lesson of encouragement for me.

This is only the second year that I file for tax return on my own. I said to myself after last filing last year that I would be more diligent about keeping records this year. It's almost April, and my record keeping has not been better, yet.

I was befriend-ing the lady helping at my CPA's office by talking to her while she meticulously stapled envelopes to my prepay tax vouchers for the upcoming months and carefully peeling off the address labels from a pile of other labels and pasted them on each envelope. That image stayed with me. My first thought was that I would never be like her and I said to myself that's why she worked in a CPA firm and I counseling clinic. I was surprised by the thought following that: that I could do that too, and remembered the times when I was being orderly and organized. I can do it too. And as I was thinking those thoughts, I was actually feeling more confident and happy about being an adult of my age, still learning to live independently.

I guess by the same way I had deprived TC of the opportunity to perform domestic duties like cooking, cleaning and caring for children, he also had shielded me from having to deal with matters like this, from filing for tax return, to investing money. Maybe we thought we were loving the other person by making life easier for them, but in the end, we resented having to be the only one taking care of certain responsibilities.

The new job, I have learned from the training, requires me to be a good record keeper and diligent about documenting everything and all things. For someone like me, who throws away receipts and doesn't remember to look at the appointment book and hence miss appointments at times. OCD kind of documenting, and paying attention to details certain feels anti-nature and restrictive and even making me doubt if I can do the job right.

I have learned from this trip to my CPA's office that all it takes for me, to be as neat and organized as the lady in the office, is to take a deep breath, clear my head and get to the job.

I can be organized too if I want to.

Comes tax time next year, I will have all the documentation ready. I hope.

Every time I stop my car, I need to jot down the odometer reading! Now that is the first lesson on documentation. ( That is if I want my mileage reimbursed. Sigh.)