My Latest Tax Experience

Did you know there is such an animal as the Alternative Minimum Tax? Originally this creature was created to force some of the wealthiest in our country to pay taxes as they had previously found so many ways to make deductions that they owed little to no income tax. The government spotted their clever ruse and decided to make a way to force these misers to actually pay. Unfortunately, like so many government institutions and ideas, once enacted the AMT was never updated to reflect inflation and tax cuts. Consequently the AMT no longer applies to the upper class but increasingly manages to snare folks in the middle class range as well. Basically the AMT says that if you make over X number of dollars and also have more than Y number of deductions (thus reducing the amount of federal income tax you owe), there is a chance that the government will say NO WAY to your tax rate and put you in a higher bracket, forcing you to pay more. The AMT dollar figure started high but isn't so high anymore. Needless to say I was a little peeved when I was schooled on this matter. But not to worry, I have sufficiently calmed myself after learning that Congress took another look at the cooky AMT and did some revising so as to leave us middle of the roaders out.

Acceptance Letters 101

Here it is...the first of my to-blog list!

Due to some recent decisions that will significantly change our family's lifestyle, Luke and I have been diligently searching for a pre-school for Jack for the 2008-2009 school year. Our first thoughts of course were the pre-school at our church. Being the good (read lazy) mom that I am, I polled members of our Adult Bible Fellowship in regards to the the CEC. After receiving mixed reviews on everything from the academic standards to the amount of chapel attended each week, I found myself in the pre-school trap. I was certain that if I didn't find the EXACT perfect pre-school certain doom would befall. After a week of researching and pulling my hair out in angst I came to the realization that it really doesn't matter. The pre-school I send Jack to has no bearing in any form on the university he will attend or the career he will have. It is just pre-school -- a chance for his three year old (when school starts that is) self to run around, make some friends, color some pictures and learn some songs.

But this recent search opened my eyes to an entire world I assumed I was miles away from...the crazy land of pre-school competition. I called one school to find that there was a waiting list several students long...already...and registration hadn't even been opened officially. Other moms I know were visiting pre-school after pre-school in hopes of finding the program that offered the most Bible exposure, the most creative yet rigorous academics, the nicest looking facility, the most options (ballet and tae-kwon-do to name a few). They were and are genuinely concerned that their children will somehow be behind in life if the perfect pre-school isn't found. The entire process is preposterous. And that is when I noticed the correlation -- between these parents and the students I teach now. My students are so concerned with each grade and every extra-curricular all in hopes of earning a spot in the most prestigious university; most of these students are so focused on prestige they haven't stopped to consider whether the university of choice is the best fit for them -- just like these other moms.

So here is the conclusion to which I have arrived. Jack will attend CEC -- we hope that he will learn a few things he didn't know before, he will gain a greater sense of the God to whom he belongs, he will make friends that may last a school year or a lifetime but most of all we hope that he will have fun. After all, isn't that what being three is all about?

Things to blog about...

The purpose of this blog was to de-clutter and organize my very cluttered brain. Well three months of maternity leave has left my brain uncluttered (sort of). I honestly think the reason for the lack of clutter is not so much that I have managed to organize my thoughts but rather that I am living on the brink of utter exhaustion and therefore have so few original thoughts that I couldn't possibly be cluttered. That being said there are a few things on which I would like to voice my opinion. Here is a list...I will leave you in anticipation as to my thoughts on each subject. Think of this as a blog to-do list.

1. Acceptance letters 101: from preschool through college
2. Playgroup and beyond - where the real crazies live
3. my recent tax experience
4. my new BFF: the new parent friend dilemma
5. Brain drain: the new study that proves pregnancy does cause the crazies (not that I didn't know that already) and what this means for moms everywhere

I think that's about it. I am going to try to get writing on some of these soon. Of course, since I return to work in a week, my likelihood of success is anyone's guess