Today’s Tax Day, Only…It’s Not.

A World War II era IRS poster.

Did you know that for the last 64 years (since 1955) the United States’ Tax Day has been April 15? When April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, tax returns are due the following Tuesday.

America’s tax history is, in fact, pretty interesting. For someone who’s paid taxes for decades, I must admit this information was new to me.

• Congress passed the 16th Amendment creating the income tax on February 3, 1913. It taxed income above $4,000 and designated the first tax deadline as March 1, 1913.

• The Revenue Act of 1918 moved the deadline to March 15 while also imposing a 77% tax on the highest income to help fund World War I.

• The Depression lowered incomes so significantly that people stopped paying taxes. Congress raised rates and eliminated exemptions to fund World War II, and it became a patriotic duty to pay taxes. The Treasury Department began withholding tax payments from workers' paychecks, and the W-2 was born. 

There’s a lot of information about the IRS, taxes, and the Treasury, on the internet. And now there’s a new bit of tax history:

This year following President Trump’s emergency declaration of the Stafford Act (a federal law pertaining to natural disasters), taxpayers don’t have to pay their federal income taxes until July 15, 2020.

Author Margaret Mitchell said, “Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.” 

Easter Monday

For at least a dozen and a half years, I've decorated an Egg Tree in our front yard during the Lenten season. I wrote a couple of blog posts about it. You can read a little bit about it here (including some easy how-to instructions). 

When Easter falls midway through the April calendar, like it did this year, I rush to get my plastic eggs up early enough that the tree leaves and blossoms don't arrive simultaneously to my decorating. Because of the Lunar calendar, Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring. The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22nd (plenty of time for decorating and seeing the tree) and the latest possible date is April 25th.

Virginia 2018

Virginia 2019

This year I decided to move our Egg Tree to a new location in our yard, sharing a little Easter cheer from a new vantage point.  

Virginia 2020

By Easter, the dogwood tree is flowering and the eggs are harder to see. 

My goal is to bring a little joy and a reminder to passersby. Every year as I unbox my eggs (and create a few more), the meaning and message are the same. 

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It's Good to Be Back

Floor sticker at the local Harris Teeter.

As the world slows during this quarantine, offering us all an opportunity to thoughtfully consider  what matters and what we love, my heart felt a tug to revisit my blog. 

I stopped posting almost exactly 7 years ago. I had my blog posts printed into book format afterwards and glancing through it brings me a lot of joy. My husband has the blog bookmarked on his browser and says he loves looking at old posts. The world of social media has exploded in the last few years and lots has happened in our family since, graduations, moves, job changes, trips, etc. and, with each  experience, memories made. I am delving back into my blog because a once-in-a-hundred-year pandemic seems like the perfect time to personally reflect on where we've been, where we are (I will probably revisit some old posts and provide updates), and where we're going, and also to record in real time how our family is doing during this historic moment. 

It's good to be back.

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La Fin

For quite some time I have contemplated bringing this blog to its conclusion.  I have less to write about these days as my children grow older and quite frankly, I've realized that my writing abilities and creativity pale in comparison to so much that is out there.  The perfectionist in me has tried to shrug it off, but the skills of other bloggers, as well as Pinterest and Etsy, have finally stripped away my denial.

What started as a blog to discuss my love of holidays morphed into more of a family scrapbook, the upside being that it assuaged much of my guilt about long-forgotten baby books, details of recollected celebrations and bins full of mementos whose histories, that except for this blog, would have been lost. I arrived at this blogging thing a little late and so envy those who have this medium to record their families as they grow and change. 

Thanks to those few of you who have checked in regularly to see if I posted (Jill and Robbie, this means you).  Sorry it has been so sporadic the last two years.  I lost my "mojo" (if I ever had any) when relocating to Texas and never seemed to quite find my groove again.  I have enjoyed, and many days even loved, sharing family traditions, celebrations, recipes and photos via this blog.  Thank you for indulging me.

Finally, to my children (and perhaps their children, one day) who will hopefully sit down to read these words and enjoy the photos, thank you for allowing me to share a part of your lives on this blog.  I hope you will cherish so many of the special moments that are contained within these pages.  I know I do.

It's St. Patrick's Day, baby!

Twenty years ago today, on the heels of the Snowpocalypse of '93 (and more than 24 hours without power), this happened.

Thirteen days before her due date and after 21 hours of labor, as the anesthesiologist said, we had our little "leprechaun."  She's been delighting us with her magical charm ever since.
Happy Birthday, McKenzie!  We love you.  

Spring Break

It's Spring Break week in Texas and we've just returned from a few days on the gulf coast of Florida (the most spectacular sand and surf anywhere in the continental U.S., no doubt).  Sadly, as has been our misfortune over the years, our spring break trip was marred by terribly cold, overcast and windy weather, effectively negating the wonder of our vacation, excepting the view from our condominium window.  

We consoled ourselves with thoughts of dinners out, books absorbed, quality time spent together and that illusive goal of relaxation. Still the weather was nothing less than miserable.  
All this had me thinking about some of our past spring breaks - many of them impaired by less than ideal weather, but part educational, part restful, while others merely represented the need for a change of scenery.  
Two thousand and one marked our first ever trip to Disney's Vero Beach resort.  It was cold then too. Still, we got to see Dodgers' Spring Training; were delighted by a surprise viewing of a Space Shuttle launch and spent a day at Disney World.
The next year, daring to tempt fate, we spent a second freezing Spring Break in Vero using the cold weather as an excuse to travel to see the Kennedy Space Center and the Piper Airplane Factory.

With the space shuttle in the background.

In 2005, we settled on an educational theme for our spring break (and a chance to visit some family as well). We began in Jamestown and Williamsburg, then traveled to see my alma mater as well as Thomas Jefferson's home, then on to Washington, D.C. for a couple of days.  Again, it was mostly freezing during our travels and was a hectic trip that was everything but restful.

What's Williamsburg without a tri-cornered hat?

In front of UVA's Rotunda 

Two years ago, we made the trip to Texas during Spring Break (to figure out if this was where we should make our home).  It was windy and sunny (as spring is here).  We then ventured to coastal Alabama, which just like Florida this week, was cold and overcast.
Finally last year, we traveled to California, both Los Angeles and San Diego. This combined the best of all vacations, sightseeing (Hollywood, DisneyLand - hard as we try, seems we can't get away from Mickey, and the San Diego Zoo); education (shout out to the Reagan and awesome Nixon libraries); and relaxation (Hotel Del Coronado, for the win!).  

A Disney Cruise (wow, in hindsight it seemed  we had a thing for "the Mouse") was warm and wonderful in 2004.

In 2009, we endeavored to see the world (or at least a corner of it) in 6 short days.  A trip to England and France was very enjoyable.  

P.S. Today is National Pi Day and yesterday the Cardinals elected a new Pope. I was a great fan of John Paul II. I even have a coffee table book in my living room about him. Tate and I were gathered around the tv for the announcement (my daughter texted me that she was watching the live stream in her computer at college)! You might have thought there was something in it for us Protestants, we were all so excited! Congratulations to Catholics everywhere!    

February 14th