Music Archives - another jennifer

Tax Season and Mom Guilt

March 5, 2013 By anotherjennifer 33 Comments

“I don’t want to go to daycare.”

“I don’t like school.”

“I want to stay home with you, Mommy.”

I’ve been hearing a lot of these statements from Biz lately.

At first, the mom guilt sunk in. Maybe I wasn’t spending enough time with him. Maybe he’s having a hard time at preschool or daycare.

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I’ll play quietly by myself while you work in your office. I won’t bother you,” he says as he spins on the office chair reserved for clients, holding a stack of my business cards spread out like playing cards in his hands.

This one killed me. He knows I work from home and can’t entertain him if he stays home with me.

Goofing off at G’s indoor soccer practice.

“But won’t you miss playing with your friends all day?” I try to remind him of the fun he has when he’s away from me during the day. Oftentimes, he has a hard time leaving at 4pm when I pick him up.

But he’s been unusually difficult lately. Not unruly, just constantly debating with me. About everything.

Then I realized it’s tax season. I’ve been through this before with G.

Being married to a CPA means that Dad disappears between January and April 15th. He leaves early in the morning and doesn’t come home until after the kids are in bed. As we get closer to April, I’m lucky if I see him before I go to bed. He works on weekends. Though he is religious about family dinner and movie night on Fridays and is the one that gets the kids ready for their day every morning, this absence takes its toll on everyone.

They don’t always know how to express it, but the boys miss their dad. And so do I.

There are days when it’s too much for me. There are just too many people relying on me. Or so it feels. Being the sole CEO of a business and a family 24 hours per day is taxing. (Could the word tax have more negative meaning to it?) Little things bring me to tears, and I raise my voice for no reason a few too many times.

But I also know this is only temporary. And if we really need Dad, he’ll be there for us. Like when our puppy, Hana, got stuck under the deck on a Monday morning, and I couldn’t get her out. Or when he surprised me for a quick one-night getaway to Sugarloaf. He seems to know when I’m about to crack and need some time away.

I have so much respect and admiration for single moms and military wives. I don’t know how they do it.

I also know that tax season is as hard on my husband as it is on us.

So for now, I’m lax with the rules. Dancing and singing is allowed at the dinner table. The constant loud burping and farting followed by giggles is slightly more tolerated. I’ll let them watch a little extra television or play an extra game on their tablet every now and then. We’ll read just one more book before going to bed, and I’ll give 17 more hugs before I leave them to sleep.

It’s the little things that keep us sane during tax season.

Right now, this is my theme song. Because I have to remember, it’s nice to be alive. (And, yes, I also blast this and dance with my kids. Swears and all.)

Don’t stress
That’s dumb
I’m here
And it’s nice to be alive

Chill out
It’s all right
Kiss me
It’s nice to be alive

“It’s Nice To Be Alive” by Ball Park Music

Are you a tax widow or a tax professional? How do you handle “busy season”?

Filed Under: Life, Music, Parenting Tagged With: Biz, G, mom guilt, tax season, working mom

Favorite Line from a Love Song

February 14, 2013 By anotherjennifer 22 Comments

A friend on Facebook recently asked her friends to share their favorite line (or lyrics) from a love song. It was a fun question, which I also shared on my Facebook page. I didn’t get a ton of responses, but I thought I’d share a few, today being Valentine’s Day and all.

One of my many Valentine’s Day cards from Biz.

From Sandy:

Home is whenever I’m with you

[from "Home" by Edward Sharpe]

From Karla:

Together again
It would feel so good to be
In your arms
Where all my journeys end
If you can make a promise
If it’s one that you can keep
I vow to come for you
If you wait for me

[from "The Promise" by Tracy Chapman]

From John:

Troubles they may come and go,
But good times they are the gold.
And if this road gets rocky girl,
Just steady as we go.

[from "Steady As We Go" by Dave Matthews Band]

And here’s mine:

And every time she sneezes I believe it’s love

[from "Anna Begins" by Counting Crows]

I’m not sure if “Anna Begins” is a true love song, but the lyrics are amazing. I could listen to this song all day long.

What is your favorite line from a love song?

Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day! Have any big plans? I’m not big on Valentine’s Day.

Filed Under: Just for Fun, Music Tagged With: love songs, song lyrics, Valentine's Day

On Halloween, We Were Young

November 3, 2012 By anotherjennifer 14 Comments

So, my husband and I ditched our boys on Halloween night for fun. And it was totally worth the initial feeling of guilt.

[For the record, my kids had a ball trick-or-treating with our awesome neighbor. They came home with more candy than they would have had they gone out with us. And we did get to march in our town's Halloween parade before leaving for the concert.]

When we arrived at the State Theatre, there was a line wrapped around the building. My initial observation was that we were clearly going to be the oldest people at this concert.

A few passersby asked who was playing and, upon hearing “fun.”, noted that they had never heard of the band. One woman, who was probably my age, said “I’m way too old to know them!”

To which I replied, “No you’re not!”

Earlier that day, a neighbor at the school bus stop (again, around my age) told me it had been years since she and her husband had gone to a concert.

Why do people stop going to concerts when they are out of their 20s and have kids?

I’m sorry. That’s no excuse to not go see a band play in concert. A good band is way better live than on an album. (And fun. did not disappoint on that end.)

As we got closer to the opened theatre doors, we passed by a hair salon where we could see three women getting ready to go out for Halloween. They had overalls on with condoms pinned on them. One had a condom over her left eye. My husband and I smiled because we immediately knew who they were supposed to be. The girls in front of us, who were also studying for a pharmacology exam as we stood in line, were completely perplexed.

I guess college students aren’t aware of TLC.

Once we got in the theatre, we felt a little better. There were some “older” people there. Most were supervising young teenager, but that counts for something, right?

We paid $13.50 for a beer and a drink (!) and hung out in the area for the 21 and older crowd. This was our view.

Waiting for the Miniature Tigers to take the stage at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine.

The Miniature Tigers started the evening off for us. The lead singer was dressed as a woman. Actually, every band member was dressed in costume.

Fun.? They were dressed as the cast of Friends. They even had a couch on stage with a Central Perk sign and opened with the theme song to Friends. At one point, “Phoebe” took center stage and sang “Smelly Cat.”

Fun. dressed as the cast of Friends for the Halloween show. It’s hard to see, but the lights spell out the word “Friends.”

Fun. was so much better live than I could have ever imagined. Lead singer, Nate Ruess, sounded Freddie Mercury-esque. I couldn’t believe how good his voice sounded live. (If you’ve sung along to any of fun.’s songs, you know what I mean. He hits some notes.)

And while I don’t always like the cheesy sing-a-longs at concerts, Nate knew exactly how to get the audience going. At some point, there was a zombie sing-a-long and confetti.

Every concert should involve confetti.

Did I mention proceeds of the concert also went to charity because there was environmental and social consciousness element to it? Even better!

There’s nothing like screaming your head off to some really great tunes with hundreds (or thousands) of complete strangers, many of whom were dressed in costume.

So, the next time you think you are too old to attend a concert, think again.

We may now be closer to 40 than 30, but we make it a point to go out and attend at least a few concerts each year. And I’m sure we’ll be going to even more when G gets older.

What’s more fun. than that?