Diversion
It is time for my annual expose on taxes. You can go here or here if you want to refresh your memory on some of my more brilliant thoughts on the subject. Or you can just come with me to the tulip festival where I successfully avoided anything to do with how much money I didn't make, which expenses I claimed, and the receipts I lost (and found).
It was a beautiful day, and it was such a shame to waste inside fighting with numbers. A friend of mine had posted pictures of her trip out to the tulip festival last year. She takes wonderful pictures and they looked so inviting, I told her I would love to go with her, if she decided to go again this year. To my delight, she asked me if I wanted to go on Saturday. I had slated Saturday to tackle the taxes.
After a pleasant drive out to the northeast, we joined throngs of people who were also avoiding doing anything that looked like Saturday chores. A thirty-five-acre-flag of of brilliant colour unfurled before us. We took our time wandering the fields - stopping to take pictures every once in a while - each angle looking a little more inviting than the last.
In between wandering around the field, and stopping to look at the individual varieties of tulips, we solved the world's problems. I was reminded again how blessed I am to have her in my life. We sort of stumbled on each other. When my kids were just entering elementary school, hers were just finishing up in the older grades of the same school. She hosted a "Moms Who Care" group at her house and let me bring my baby with me so I could attend. Later, when my mother-in-law joined our family, she and I became what I call 'non-relatives' because her husband is the brother of my mother-in-law.
Over the years we have gotten to know each other on a few levels - as 'family' and as friends, and she is precious to me on every level.
Part of the fun of the tulip festival is people watching. Families with their kids (some screaming in their strollers, others cajoling their kids into smiling while they took their pictures in amongst the tulips), couples dressed up for a date (it was fun to watch them try and avoid the mud in their high heels), tourists,
photographers, [and wannabe photographers]. There was a kaleidoscope of people all out enjoying the hard work of the farmers.
No matter how good the pictures are, there 's no way to capture the pure majestic beauty of standing in a field of tulips, surrounded by mountains on every side.
After we got our fill, we wandered back to the van, stopping to get a picture of this piece of history. We and decided to top off the afternoon with ice cream on our way back.
It was the perfect diversion.
Taxes or Tulips?
Tulips won.
After a pleasant drive out to the northeast, we joined throngs of people who were also avoiding doing anything that looked like Saturday chores. A thirty-five-acre-flag of of brilliant colour unfurled before us. We took our time wandering the fields - stopping to take pictures every once in a while - each angle looking a little more inviting than the last. 
In between wandering around the field, and stopping to look at the individual varieties of tulips, we solved the world's problems. I was reminded again how blessed I am to have her in my life. We sort of stumbled on each other. When my kids were just entering elementary school, hers were just finishing up in the older grades of the same school. She hosted a "Moms Who Care" group at her house and let me bring my baby with me so I could attend. Later, when my mother-in-law joined our family, she and I became what I call 'non-relatives' because her husband is the brother of my mother-in-law. 
Over the years we have gotten to know each other on a few levels - as 'family' and as friends, and she is precious to me on every level. 
Part of the fun of the tulip festival is people watching. Families with their kids (some screaming in their strollers, others cajoling their kids into smiling while they took their pictures in amongst the tulips), couples dressed up for a date (it was fun to watch them try and avoid the mud in their high heels), tourists,
photographers, [and wannabe photographers]. There was a kaleidoscope of people all out enjoying the hard work of the farmers.
No matter how good the pictures are, there 's no way to capture the pure majestic beauty of standing in a field of tulips, surrounded by mountains on every side.
It was the perfect diversion.
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