The heavy rain blotted the color out of the surrounding countryside. Green trees turned to a dark, dead gray. The tan brick buildings of the city looked even more dull. It was easy to allow your heart to fade as well.
It was Tax Day.
He drove his battered SUV up to the Post Office, pulled through the drive-thru and felt his heart beat in the rhythm of the windshield wipers. He took a deep breath, pressed the button and rolled down the windows.
But despite the copious amounts of rain, there was sunshine in his heart. He was paying the taxes. The check was about to be in the mail.
Now it seems odd that a man would be so happy about paying his “fair share” or whatever some politician called the annual bloodletting. But he viewed it differently this year than he had in the past. He didn’t see paying taxes as a curse. For him, it was a sign he was working. That he was gainfully employed. He knew he was blessed to have a job.
Of course he’d have liked to keep more of his money. He was still in savings mode after the shock of 2010 (that’s what he liked to call his pink slip). The money he was mailing to pay for GSA parties, Secret Service prostitutes and $500 Pentagon toilet seats could have helped pad the next fall — and he knew it would come. Change occasionally allows emergencies to tag along. Maybe he should get one of those high-paid accountants like the corporations use to avoid taxes. He laughed and got his mind right again. As he dropped the check into the big blue mailbox, he smiled.
He was working again.
2011 had been a huge blessing. And now, his completed tax form was proof of his hard work and success.
As he rolled up his window, he made the decision not to complain. He put the car in gear and pulled ahead. 2012 was going to be his best year yet. As the rain fell harder, the windshield wipers would have to work hard to keep up with his full heart.
No he didn’t like paying taxes. Not at all. But he was just glad he had a job on this rainy Tax Day. And for that, he was thankful.