Week 17: Document

     I really struggled with this prompt. It is such a simple prompt, but because of all the different possible avenues to take, I got tripped up. Nothing immediately stood out. Then it hit me. Why not write about what I am working on right now; which includes many documents. Perfect.

    I am currently in the process of digitizing a box of documents that belonged to my mom and dad. Something you might not think about digitizing. And more than likely, it's not in your collection anyway. What's that you ask? Tax documents. I know what you are thinking. Why wouldn't I digitize tax documents? Well, most of the time, people do not keep copies of their taxes past 10 years, or even less. Why would you? There is no need for them anymore. That's why I said it probably wouldn't even be in your collection anyway. Well, when it comes to my parents, as I've stated in the past, they don't get rid of ANYTHING!

    When I cleaned out my dad's filing cabinet, one whole drawer had tax returns going back to the early 1980s. I pulled them all out of the drawer and put them in a box to go through later. Later was a few months ago. As I started going through the envelopes, not only did I find their tax returns, I found receipts, canceled checks, notes, and more. Details about their lives for that year. Do you know how much information you can glean from these? It was at that moment that I decided to save the box to digitize. As much as I'd like to keep the originals, I just don't have room. So here I am now. Digitizing my parents' tax returns.

Receipts from 1985

    I will be writing another blog post later talking about the information you can learn from these documents. Some obvious facts and some not-so-obvious facts. And as the years went on, the requirements changed. As we get more currently, there are fewer and fewer extra documents. As I stated, some of the envelopes had returned checks. I scanned each one. It may be overkill, but I would rather do the extra work now than regret not doing it later. 

Drug Store Receipt
Jennifer Fuchs - 1985

    It is fun looking through receipts and such from when I was just a baby. Trying to learn more about my parents and their struggles trying to make ends meet. There were even medical receipts in these envelopes. I took the time to convert the income figure to today's amount to understand more. 

    So that's what I am currently working on. Pouring through many documents. Digitizing. Analyzing. Reminiscing. Definitely keeps me busy. I've been laid up with some health issues, so this works. What kind of documents are you going through right now?