Feb 09 2009
Tax Season Widow
Some women are sports widows. As a matter of fact, at one time, I was a football widow. I lost my husband every Sunday, Monday, and the occasional Thursday night for the entire football season. Eventually, I decided, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” and signed on as a football fan myself.
Some women are widows to other husband-related activities. Fishing widows, hunting widows, ski widows, hobby train widows. You name the hobby, there’s surely a neglected wife behind it.
As the wife of a Tax Accountant, I have come to realize that I am very much a tax season widow. Now, this is not to say that my husband’s job is, by any means, his hobby. Nor is it to say that he goes to work and parties all day long. I know all-to-well the rigors of tax season and the toll it takes on my husband mentally. Believe me, I do.
However, as a tax season widow, I find myself all alone with the kids Monday through Saturday. Often, he doesn’t get home until after the kids are in bed, so there are sometimes days on end where they don’t see their Daddy. When this happens, Bug starts acting naughty, which wears me down, which sucks. Sometimes, especially when it has been a number of days since the kids have seen their Dad, I keep them up late, just so he can kiss them goodnight and tuck them in. I always know when I do this, that I will pay for it the next day with tired kiddos, but I think it’s worth it.
It’s funny though, the idea of being a tax season widow this year. For some reason, despite my seemingly endless nausea and brain-melting fatigue, I don’t mind the fact that I’m the only parent for most hours of the week. It could be that this year I have my writing to keep me busy. It could be that I have lots of friends to keep me distracted.
Truthfully, though, I think it mostly has to do with the economy.
In this economy, where thousands upon thousands are losing their jobs, I’m merely thankful that my husband has a job, and a relatively secure one at that. Who am I to complain about him working a ton of hours on salary pay when there are so many who would kill for such job security? I truly believe, though these bad economic times are depressing and scary, they are making myself, and many others thankful for what we have, as opposed to what we don’t have.
Not only is my husband gainfully employed, his work looks out for the families of the employees. For the duration of tax season, they teamed up with the local daycare, so employees can drop their kids off on Saturdays to play and have fun and give the tax season widowers and widows like me, a break. Even though it’s not something I can use every Saturday, it’s still there. Now that is a good company, looking out for the families of the employees.
So this year, I will happily bear the title of Tax Season Widow because I know it could be so much worse.
(As a completely unrelated side note: Have you ever seen a $10,000 bill like the one in the picture? I didn’t even know they ever existed!)
I’m becoming a master’s thesis widow. My fiancee refuses to come out for Valentines day because his deadline is March 1st. I dont actually mind that much, because I’m trying to write one myself, but I had never thought of it that way and it made me laugh : )
Love your writing by the way; though I’m nowhere near the children stage, I really hope I can handle it as gracefully (yes, I said gracefully) as you seem to!
Lindsay. I am not a tax season widow, however I lost Jeremy only on Sunday and Wednesday nights and the occasion friday and saturday and that was enough for me. Kuddos to you for dealing with it. You are stronger than I. Maybe it is easier this year because you are getting more and more use to it.
I am a tax season widower. I work tax season, and my husband is the one waiting at home. He makes me breakfast each morning before I leave, and when I come home, dinner is waiting. He also picks up the slack on cleaning the house. He has a garndening business, so things slow down for him in the winter and he has time to baby me, which is great. I dread tax season each year, but I too am thankful for a job in an industry that is never going to slow down. Hang in, it’ll be over soon….