Wrapping up

I am finally closing in on my tax preparation grand finale - collating all the numbers I’ve collected from all my accounts (two bank accounts, two credit cards, venmo, and PayPal) to put them together into a profit and loss statement that my tax preparer will use to sort my taxes this year. My appointment is March 1st. I really don’t know how it’s going to go this year, so I’m bracing for the worst. My California venues grant is taxable, and I took some deductions last year that otherwise would have been applicable this year. I made less money, but that grant put me over the top. I also paid a lot in estimated taxes, but I’m prepared for the fact that I may owe more. I hope I get a pleasant surprise. But 2022 was a weird year financially, so I don’t know what to expect. Finishing up my tax work means I can take a little mental break again, which is good. Having to do tax stuff every day or night kind of feels like homework - it’s definitely a chore. So it’s not surprising that I empathize when the kids bemoan their homework load. I hear ya, kid.

We’re going to try to nip off to the desert this weekend, even though we’re going to freeze our butts off again. It’ll be so different when the place is insulated. I’ve heard nothing from our contractor neighbor - and I don’t want to be pushy. He knows we have work for him and has told us he’d squeeze us in when he can. If only we could get those windows in and insulation in it would make such a difference. We could actually move in some furniture, move out all of the leftover construction stuff, and actually be kind of comfortable. For me, I’m looking forward to a weekend of just enjoying the environment - unlike last time, there’s no big projects to do, just small ones. We can hang the hammocks and just chill. I can’t wait to get away. And the timing couldn’t be better, as I’m looking ahead to what might be some years of a return to austerity - we may have to stop all these trips and just go to the cabin on long weekends and school breaks, unless it can be done for free like our upcoming Hawaii trip entirely paid by points. I’m perfectly content spending all my free time out there; that was sort of the whole point. And while I’m sure we’ll face challenges with vandalism and break ins at some point, it’s been nearly a year with the security cameras and nothing has happened yet, nor has the county come a-knocking telling us to tear everything down, although I expect that could happen at any time, too.

I’m glad the boys seem to enjoy going out there despite it being not that interesting for them; the day they groan in disgust when I tell them we’re heading out there will just break my heart. But I feel like, for now, a) they’re kids and just roll with things, b) they enjoy the adventure as much as we do, and c) they also dig that it’s our very own place. When I was talking to Bobby once about what he and Theo would inherit when I’m gone, and how they would have to decide whether to keep or sell things, he said, “the cabin, well, I’m definitely keeping that,” and that made me happy. I had a bit of a fantasy that he or Theo could attend Copper Mountain College just down the 62 and live in the cabin as free lodgings. I definitely wonder what role this place, and spending time out there, will have on their future selves.