Taxing

Today, Saturday, I finally sat down with TurboTax and a neatly filed folder and got down to the business of wresting our refund back from the government. We make sure we give quite a good fair share, but then for some reason it takes me a while to get around to accounting for and requesting the surplus.

While I did that, Tim sat down in the hospital and worked on breathing. He'll have been off the respirator for 16 hours at midnight. Off means for the most part that he's still got his "trach collar" on, delivering about 25% oxygen (through a humidified tube). He tired out around 6:00PM and went to bed, but stayed off the respirator. He said the problem was as much boredom as anything else. He's seen enough of Charles and Camilla to last a lifetime.

Besides playing with money, I spent the day catching up on laundry, taking the plastic sheeting off the back windows, and reveling in the summery weather. The wind that's kicked up now, though, is bringing humidity (and eventually rain, we hope), a change in barometric pressure, and tons and tons of grass pollen, I do believe. My ears itch, my head is draining, and I'm sneezing my head off.

It's my own fault, though. For two years, while I was off white sugar, I had no allergies. Having eased my winter anxieties with a lot of chocolate and occasional ice cream, I now have to wonder if it's worth it.

So I'm sneezing, and Tim's breathing, and all the numbers here and in the hospital are just what they should be.