k-she-rambles:

nerdyqueerandjewish:

For people with anxiety about filing taxes, here’s what things that happen when you make a mistake on your tax return:

- it gets corrected

- you get a letter in the mail either asking for some additional information or a letter showing the adjustment

- you pay the amount (there’s options for payment plans too!) or get a refund

Things that do not happen

- you’re “in trouble”

- you are charged with fraud

- you go to jail

I know that most people are probably just joking/exaggerating when they say a mistake on their return means they get thrown in jail but when I worked with the public I always would encounter people who believed that would happen and they would be panicking about it. So I like to put this out there every year because if I can even prevent one person from feeling that way, it’s worth it

Also the IRS will NEVER cold call you. If you get an upsetting phone call about your taxes it is a scam.

We used to think that we had so much time on our hands. We looked forward to sharing movies with each other, playing video games together, and walking through different places, from the mundane to the more unfamiliar that extend beyond this continent. We drowned in our current responsibilities but reserved hope and excitement for the adventures ahead; a bad day wasn’t so bad when we know we had each other to look forward to. 

Even if we would have disagreements and even if we agreed that parting ways was the smart decision, I am still saddened by the fact that the happiness I had, will no longer be repeated with you. I think of our time in New York when we were giggling under the covers, intoxicated by the alcohol and the certainty of an unforgettable time. I remember our time in Flagstaff when we peacefully sat at the foot of the master bed of our small air BNB, taking in the winter scenery outside, and wondering where our life will take us. You said you imagined me there, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t imagine and hope for you too. 

Waking up in the morning to catch you staring at me, mindlessly reaching for each other’s hands when we are going about our day, appreciating comfortable silences when we do our work together, and winding down on the couch after a long day with you by my side; those moments felt guaranteed. I thought they will be mine forever. Now our time is limited. Our time spent together is no longer saturated with the promise of each other staying. Eventually, we will have to come home without the other’s arms waiting, sleep without the possibility of the other’s warmth or soft glow through a video call. 

I am struggling between creating new memories with my best friend and gradually creating that distance that will eventually separate us anyway; what will hurt more, creating new memories to miss or dismissing an opportunity to preserve or restore an important friendship? As we attempt to salvage or reserve some of those feelings and create new memories during the time we have left, they feel stolen; they don’t feel completely entitled to me like they used to.  Perhaps this makes it more precious, time will tell. 

Even if our friendship survives and perhaps thrives from this, it won’t ever be the same. The time that we shared will remain just that, time shared. When we were together, we were confident that we would be there for each other. It seems now more than ever, we truly have to trust each other more if we hope to make a new friendship work, no guarantees. 

I could fill pages of the things I would miss, but I must trust that these moments will live on in our memories. I only hope that in time, they bring us nothing but happiness and the certainty that although those moments are no longer promised to you and me, the moments we had shared will always belong to us.

cathianemelian:

It wasn’t love at first sight. It wasn’t a swift arrow to the heart and suddenly I was yours. We were friends that developed a secure and intoxicating bond. Drunk with infatuation, we chose to give a loving relationship a shot.  

I was guarded, slow to let you in. I feared being vulnerable and admitting I have troubles that I need your help carrying. You held my hand and invited my sorrows to speak but also made sure that there was enough room for happiness and security. I chose to let my guard down around you.

Loving you wasn’t easy, I imagine I wasn’t either; you have your faults, just as I have mine. Nevertheless, having the impulse to share both the crazy and mundane aspects of my day, and the instinct to take care of you and make you happy came as naturally as breathing to me. From the moment I wake up, to the moment sleep finally takes me, I chose to love you. 

The drunk infatuation faded, but my love for you, my love for being with you, and the love that I had for a future with you, persisted. There were days when the decision was harder, but my choice remained the same.

I made the choice to love you every day, it was a choice I was happy to make, regardless of the pain we naturally inflicted on each other as a couple trying to make things last. 

Now I’m afraid it’s time to make the choice to stop. 

gardnerhill:

sketiana:

‘kids these days have it easy’ thats the point thats the point thats the whole point we’re here to make it better for whoever comes after you sad selfish self absorbed puddle of wank

John Adams: “I study war and diplomacy, so that my son may study trade and commerce, so that his son may study art and music.”

hatin:

“I think it’s important to realize you can miss something, but not want it back.”

— Paulo Coelho (via perrfectly)

I’ve been told by a dear friend that our relationship appears to be in full bloom

and I can’t blame him. It certainly feels that way. 

Flowers fill our garden, of all shapes and sizes they blossom from the ground in which we stand. They fill our air with their sweet scent and the space with their different hues. Like tiny explosions they continue to both surprise and delight in darkness and in light. 

The flowers bring peace, stability, joy, and color into my life. They grow in crevices far deeper than even my own thoughts could access. Their vines intertwine with my dreams and aspirations; with ease they burrow into my insecurities and fears. In our garden, a new life we built for us sprouts but a love for living that I thought had withered so long ago also unfolds. 

As I walk in this garden we have tended for ourselves, I can’t help but be fearful

Do I have what it takes to tend to it? Do I have the tools to let it grow? With these hands, can I ensure that I won’t let it die?

To over water is one thing but to completely neglect it is another. I don’t want to make the same mistakes I made in the past. I’m really doing my best to let this one last.

I realize that flourishing as two would be impossible if I am unable to grow as one. I’ll learn how to manage the thorns and the insects that keep returning. I’ll need some help every now and then but know that I‘m doing my best. Although I can’t promise that no flower would perish, I won’t stop working for what we have grown. It takes a few pruning to ensure a healthy garden and I am comforted that we could face any challenges as a team and prune when necessary.

I’d like to continue to walk through this garden, and so long as you continue to walk with me, I think we can see to that. 

I once heard that there lies a vast universe in everyone we meet. People’s dreams, fears, hopes for the future, and everything that makes their being unique all stirring like a galaxy holding its elements in place. I have met many people, explored many universes, and grown to love a significant few. It wasn’t until recently did I truly grasp how unending one’s universe can be.

We’ve heard it before. We can be different people depending on who we are with. Spend time with the people that you work with and watch as you hold yourself back a little.  Spend time with good friends and you find yourself loosening up and becoming more of yourself. Spend time family and you find yourself reverting to who you were as a youth. Spend time with your favorite person and watch as you open yourself up to them, perhaps more than you ever have with anyone else. Everyone has a universe inside of them, and it shifts according to whom we choose to surround ourselves; limited for strangers but unbounded for those we truly trust.

As we meet different people, we gain access to their universe, one that may excite you and fascinate you.  After a good while you find yourself growing familiar with their world, perhaps even mapping the stars that make up their personality. You make note of the similarities and appreciate the different constellations, perhaps adapting some as your own. Ultimately, the bond you build creates a universe of its own, absolutely irreplicable and precious. Two worlds colliding, not quite becoming one or fitting perfectly together like two puzzle pieces but more like different colors bleeding seamlessly together.

Unfortunately, some relationships reach a natural conclusion, that too is going to look different for everyone. It may take the form of breaking contact completely or perhaps a gradual wane. As this happens, the universe that was created between you two tears, loose strings falling as you pull apart, however slowly or however rapidly. During this process, people loose a part of themselves, I know I certainly did.

I carry my universe with me, much like I did before I met you, but it would be foolish for me to say that it didn’t change when I was with you, and even more foolish if I said that it didn’t change when we decided to part ways. I am going to miss the world we built together, how safe I felt as we discovered new parts of it together, and who I was when we explored it as a team. I lost a few galaxies, and am still feeling a few slowly and painfully die, but I know new ones will grow and light up everything again. It will take time.

As I move forward, I ponder the idea that the healing process will involve accepting that fortune doesn’t have anything to do with finding a universe that I can explore comfortably forever, but rather acknowledging that I was fortunate to discover yours in the first place. I’ll arrive there one day, that too will take time.