Grow Up

April 11, 2013 by Amanda Martinez 6 Comments

The dishes are done, baby!!!!

Special Delivery for Uncle Sam

And by dishes I mean taxes. Taxes. TAXES!!!!  Gather ’round and let me tell you a quick little story. The other day, I paraded around our office at the ‘Ol 9-to-5 and chanted loudly:

 

I HATE TAXES, YES I DO!
I HATE TAXES , HOW ABOUT YOU?!?

 

My co-workers got the biggest kick out of it and then commented about how nice it was to “have me back.” Do what I can folks. 😉

 

For the past few years, I’ve relied on one of my parents to process and file my taxes for me. I mean, c’mon, I failed Math in school. Plus, I’m a single lady and IF I was married, you bet your bottom dollar I’m making The Mastah ‘o the ‘Ouse do all the dirty work . . . taxes included! Well a few months ago, I texted one of my parents (the one that usually does them) and asked if they would be willing to do my taxes again. Little did I know that the phone account was a shared number and my other parent shot me back a text saying that they would not allow them to do my taxes. They were too overworked and shouldn’t have to deal with the stress of taking care of my taxes. Fair deal. Though it could have easily been a time for me to get upset, I saw it as a new opportunity to grow even more as an independent young professional. 

 

I guess it’s fitting that the year I get shot down for doing taxes is the year I’m focusing on a year of RENEWAL . . . to make extensive changes. I found it important to use this as a time to finally pick my chin up, face my insecurities, and put my big girl pants on. I found myself reaching out to someone I knew I could rely on to help me face the big challenge—my best friend, Maggie! She’s an excellent accountant, knows my struggles, knows how to coach me through tough seasons, and how to make me laugh through the terror of seemingly “big freakin’ deals.”

 

Doing taxes can drive a woman to drink . . . which is why I’m going with the tasty Mojito Mint Tea 😉

 

She sat down with me one afternoon and went over everything with me while I took extensive notes. Then I went through the process of hunting down all my necessary forms. Once I found them, I started chipping away at the tax form. Honestly, number crunching (even with a calculator) is like nails on a chalkboard for me. But oh let me tell you the sweet relief that came when I finally got it done! Yes, I most definitely filled out the form a few times before submitting a last draft version to Maggie so that she could double-check to make sure I filled out all the blanks properly, but I did it and it feels GREAT to have it done! Now that they’re done, I’m going to take Maggie’s advice and 

 

Make sure to watch the news on Monday. It’s the best! You see lines of cars with frantic drivers trying to drop their envelopes in the mailbox before the deadline. It’s chaos and you can feel the stress! Just be watching . . . all the while knowing you’re done and relaxing!

 

See, she KNOWS how to make life awesome! I actually gotta give a round of applause to my folks for this one. Though I was shot down in the front run of it all, I’m learning the value in “figuring it out” for myself and I know it’s making me better in the long run. Not only was I able to tackle a big insecurity, but I’m feeling a little more grown up today. And now that my taxes are all filed away, it’s time to celebrate Amo style!

 

FroYo!!! Say hello to my nummy friend > NSA NY Cheesecake + Sweet Coconut w/ a cherry on top + PARTY TIME SPRINKLES!!!!!

and

 

A super-sized helping of the delicious Queen Anne brew at Caffe Ladro ♥ Mi Amoré

Sayonara, fear of taxes!
Here’s to growing up!

 

 

PS: If you are my husband and happen to stumble upon this post a few years down the road, you are still SO TOTALLY doing our taxes! . . . I’ll be in the kitchen making coffee 😉