What Begins with 1040 and Ends with Black Ash?

Answer: My Day.

Let me explain. We filed for an extension on our taxes back in April, and now I'm in the middle of doing them. So my day began with form 1040, along with schedule C, schedule A, form 4562, and so on. Mind you, I am not a tax accountant, nor did I get my degree in accounting. It takes me FOREVER to figure everything out. In addition to that, they're not exactly kid-friendly. It's not pleasant to be interrupted every 1.3 minutes by young children who need you, while you are in the middle of reading about Schedule C, part 3, line 18.

If you can't imagine, I'll just come straight out and say - my disposition was not what you'd call happy.

Josh and Isabel came home from school and I was in the middle of trying to locate a paper (our kitchen counter and table had been taken over by this tax project). I told them they could have a cookie for a snack. Less than 2 minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I see flames and yep, this is where the Black Ash enters my day.

Isabel had taken her cookie out of the container but left the lid open. You know the hard, clear plastic containers cookies from the store bakery come in - the ones that are a bugger to open and close. Well, unfortunately my candle was also burning on the counter, right underneath the now burning, melting plastic lid.

I ran to the counter, grabbed the container of cookies and threw them into the sink turning water on everything. Only, did you know plastic become gooey and stringy when it melts. Yeah, so I had strings of burning plastic from the counter over to my kitchen sink. My counter had bits of burning plastic on it, my candle had flames much bigger than it should, and my children are all standing in the kitchen, wide-eyed, not saying a thing. I grabbed a cup, filled it with water and dumped it all over the counter and candle. Good the fire is out!
But then I notice little black stringy things floating all over my kitchen. Black Ash is everywhere!
I spent the next hour cleaning the black ash in my kitchen. And then found it had made its way into the family room, bathroom, front room and laundry room. Yay, I had been waiting for an excuse to clean these rooms! A blessing in disguise.
But in all seriousness, it really was a blessing that I was right there when the fire started. I am sure that with all the paper we had on the kitchen counter, if I had been upstairs even for 2 or 3 minutes, the entire kitchen would have been on fire by the time I made it back downstairs.

How about a day that begins with breakfast in bed and ends with a good book instead?