TheBanyanTree: A True Story

[Monique Young]

Not a lot of point to it, so if you're looking for something meaty to sink
your teeth into (assuming you're carnivorous, of course), best to move on.

It seems to me everyone is so busy these days. My friends who work are
frazzled by increasing demands caused by massive layoffs. My friends who
work for themselves are frazzled by increasing demands by their customers,
who want to pay less for more service and products. My friends who are
unemployed are frazzled because they don't have either of the first two to
contend with.

Then there's Stephanie. This poor girl works as a nurse, has a cleaning
business that her husband is doing most of the managing of since she's busy
being a nurse, and she has four children, the youngest of which is still
breast feeding. I know she has four children because I've been to her house
on several occasions, and there are AT LEAST four small girls running
around. And two new kittens. Her husband, who is father to the youngest two,
tells her that the kids are her responsibility.

So there's Stephanie. She's a client. A truly lovely girl. I like her. I'm
helping her get her business accounting computerized. And she has yet to
file her taxes for 2002. As I'm sure you know, the final deadline is August
15th. Next Friday. She's been working with the list I've given her to get
her paperwork in order for that. Somehow. With everything else going on, I
don't know how she manages.

Yesterday she dropped off her tax paperwork. I was looking at it while she
was there, just going over things. And I see, where it asks for children,
she has only listed one. She sees me looking and explains that her
ex-husband is claiming his two children as deductions, so they're not on
there.

I look at her. And I say, in my kindest voice, "Steph? Hon? You have four
kids."

Stephanie has a panicked look on her face, as if she'd just remembered that
the missing child had been left at Safeway.

She was rather embarrassed -- after all, how does one forget a child who is
still clamping onto Mom's breast every day? (As for sinking teeth into
things, let's not even go there.)

I tell ya, there's just too much going on these days for people to keep
track of.


Batman