A Morning With The Tax Man

The dream is a fairly typical one. It's the day of the final exam. You haven't read the book. You haven't been coming to class. You're totally unprepared. "That," I told Al, my accountant, "is how I feel today." I laid 5 or 6 files of loosely organized papers on his desk and waited for him to take charge.

It's been hard for me to wrap my mind around a year's worth of Matt's record keeping. By the time we went to see Al in years past, Matt was able to give him, in a highly organized way, all the information necessary to prepare our taxes. I spent the five days prior to this morning's appointment trying to replicate what Matt did. Mostly I procrastinated, was enormously distracted, and felt mind numbing fatigue which I tried alleviate with handfuls of cold cereal and other carbs. Ultimately, I accepted my limitations and hoped that Al would do so as well. Next year, it will be different I assured him. I'll have my own system. I'll continue with some of the things Matt has been doing, but will streamline it in a way that is more comfortable for me.

These annual meeting that Matt and I had with Al have always been 30% tax prep and 70% chat as old friends. For us today, the percentages were similar. Al was very patient with me during the first part of our time together as he sorted through the papers that I gave him. Only once did he say, "Matt would have had this on a chart for me." And then we chatted. I was surprised how freely our conversation flowed, how much I enjoyed it, and how much I learned about this 79 year old man that I didn't know before today.

People are really quite fascinating once you hear their stories. Mostly, we're busy bobbing around in our own lives, passing others by as passers-by and seeing people in their relationship to ourselves. Sometimes, though, we get to listen to their stories and hear the music of their lives. We hear something new, something unexpected, and it changes us, even if only a little.