It is almost April 15th and here in the good ole USA that means income tax deadline is upon us.  I don’t know how it is at your house but doing taxes was never a team thing at ours, we did a lot of things well together, taxes was not one of them. I did them for the first 15 or so years, and then as Sharyl’s self-employment complicated things she took over. Not because I was incapable of handling complicated but her input was necessary and for me to remain involved would have required teamwork; so for the last 25 or so years she did them.

On or about April 15 each year she would tell me to “sign here” and I would do so.  Even the last three years she continued to prepare our package for the CPA; during that time I was involved but just as a go-getter; you know, “go get me the checkbook” or go “get me that manila folder out of the second drawer”.  I had absolutely no input and didn’t dare ask questions. She always took the CPA a very neat package with X’s in the right blocks and all documents in order.  I sure hope he can figure out what I presented him with this year. I apologized and promised to do better next year.

Housecleaning is another event that although it should have been, was really never a team effort at our house. Sharyl didn’t work outside the home during the first few years of our marriage and we kind of fell into a routine of her doing it; after she went to work I think she just didn’t feel it was worth the effort to get me to do my part to her specifications. I did help a little but I certainly didn’t do my fair share.

The past 3-½ years housecleaning has been my responsibility.  Although I failed miserably I tried to do it exactly the way she would have if she were not sick.  We have a combination of hardwood and carpet for floor covering. There is a small corner between the bedroom and the living room on the hardwood part that I fully believe I could clean hourly and there would still be a little dust there.  Sharyl looked at that corner every time she passed by, she never said anything because she knew I was trying but I could tell how well she thought I was doing by the degree of disgust in her expression.

One problem I have always had is a little hard to talk about; I’m not really afraid of vacuum cleaners but there is something about the things that make me extremely nervous.  Sharyl and I never discussed this, although she probably wondered why I always left the room and most of the time left the house when she ran the sweeper.  At one point during Sharyl’s illness I had a complete come-apart when her sister decided to vacuum the house kind of late one night.  I apologized that night and probably should do so again.  The problem isn’t as bad when I am running the sweeper but the things still make me nervous.

I do an adequate job with the kitchen and laundry, and I am in the process of establishing a new set of standards for the floors, dusting and some of the other little things.

The bathrooms probably deserve a blog entry of their own.

I do have one laundry or housecleaning issue that I have been struggling with.  If you would like to provide your input, feel free to do so.  Do I continue to wash the sheets weekly or is it ok to alternate sides of the bed I sleep on and just do the sheets every other week?

I went to the Dr. this week; just a routine blood pressure follow-up. I checked it before I went; it was 160/84, not real good but for me not too bad.  I was expecting the typical “get more exercise and lose some weight” speech.  The nurse checked it and got 110/80 I think my numbers were closer than hers but I was happy to take theirs and I didn’t have to listen to the speech.  While I was there I mentioned that it had been more than three years since I had slept more than 5 or 6 hours in a 24-hour period and that with my present lifestyle I was comfortable using something to help me sleep.  He recommended an over the counter product called Melatonin; I have slept 7 or 8 hours a night all week and I feel better physically than I have in a long time.

Please donate to Relay for Life or your favorite cancer research organization.

Please continue to remember our family in prayer.

Good Night and God Bless.

Dave