That Time of Year

Well, here it is February 6th already and the days are getting longer - we are now officially over the 10 hour mark for daylight (not necessarily sun - just "daylight"). Before we know it, spring will be here and summer will soon follow. I am sooooo looking forward to a nice summer. It has been a long cold winter so far and I for one will be glad to see the tail end of it.

I got rambunctious recently and started a "family tree", through Genoom. I found that it is very easy to do - just click on the item and start filling in blanks. You can also invite family members to join (they get their own account and access and can add to the tree), which is a blessing, as my brother has been a big help so far in filling some of the blanks in. What is really scary is the number of family members (both near and distant) that you come up with. So far, there are roughly 109 people listed in our family tree, and I know that it isn't even close to being finished yet. This includes both my immediate family, siblings, parents, etc. as well as those on one of my son-in-law's side. That doesn't even count the other son-in-law or brother-in-law, etc. You can probably see where I am going with this - massive Cyprus trees in the South will have nothing on our family tree! I am thinking that by the time all is said and done, we will probably have in the region of 750 - 1000 people hanging in the branches.

I have found that doing this is extremely interesting. I have found out names of relatives that I didn't even know I had - well, obviously somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind I probably knew (as everybody has to come from somebody), but consciously I wasn't really aware of them (yeah, yeah I know - no comments needed). I guess what really got me interested in this was thinking about my own mortality and what, if anything, was my legacy in life. Not that I have accomplished anything on a grand scale - you know, haven't directed any big box office movies, published great musical scores, etc. However, even though life has thrown a few curves my way, I feel that I have lived life my way, to the fullest, and am happy with all that I have accomplished. I also wanted our children and grandchildren to know from whence they hail and have a bit of family history to look back and reflect on as they themselves grow older. If they get just a small portion of satisfaction from looking at the information amassed, then I will be happy, as I am sure will all the rest of the family.

I got a little reminder the other day of another season that will be soon upon us - Tax Season! Yep, got the first of my pension slips and it reminded me that I will have to start gathering all the information together for filing of taxes - yuck! Not exactly my favourite thing to do, but having worked in the area for lo, those many years, I know that if I don't do it, the tax police will soon be knocking at my door, offering a free stay with meals included, ha ha. Seriously though, one thing I don't do is fail to file taxes. Having been in the enforcement end of things all through my career (read Collections), I know the power that can be wielded and brought to bear upon those that procrastinate. I guess the only thing I will miss is getting the free tax program to file on-line, through the Department. Now I will have to shell out a few bucks I guess and get one from our local office supply store. With the preponderance of schedules and forms that have to be filled out (start schedule A, see schedule Z if you have any of these items, etc), I have found over the last several years that it is easier to do it with a good computer software program (that is acceptable to the Government) rather than on paper. The programs make it so much easier, as they "walk you through" all the areas by asking appropriate questions for income, deductions, etc etc etc. Last year, it took me a total of 45 minutes to do mine and my wife's returns, rather than the several hours it used to take. Therefore, it is worth shelling out a few bucks for the appropriate software from my hard earned sheckels. The nice part of it is that you can also "play" around with the "what if" scenarios, to maximize your deductions and tax savings, prior to filing your taxes (not that I have a lot of wiggle room, being on pension and all, but ......).

Anyways, that is about it for now - will just remind you to file your taxes on time, as the penalties can be expensive depending on your individual situation. So, with that, will leave for now ................

Grandpa out .......