As another new year quickly approaches, I've suddenly realized there's no time for making resolutions this year. Why would I abandon this time-honored tradition that offers each of us another chance to get it right? Certainly not by choice, not this year anyway.
No, this New Year's Day I'll be busy hunting receipts and making deduction lists, getting ready to attack the 1040 earlier than I ever have. In a normal year, there would be plenty of time to get everything together. But '95 will not be a normal year for us. We have a kid getting ready for college and have to file our first federal student aid application (FAFSA).
Having taken a quick look at the 12-page booklet, I now know why friends and family get that glazed look, followed by a shaking head and expressions of sympathy when I mention the FAFSA. Just getting the list of required records need to fill out dTC the form is a lengthy process. Then you have to figure out what information you, the parents, must provide and what snippets must come from your child.
The detailed instructions estimate that completing the FAFSA should take about an hour to 90 minutes. That includes reading the instructions line by line, gathering the records, filling out two work sheets and 105 lines including signatures. All this after you've tallied the damage to your '94 taxes. Talk about a number overload!
Instead of vegging out on the couch, watching parades and bowl games, I'll be knee-deep in receipts and junk mail.
There must be a better way to start off the new year.
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If, like me, you're puzzled over where to get the money for college, mark Jan. 19, on your calendar.
Counselors from Anne Arundel Community College will hold a meeting on financial aid at 7 p.m. at Northeast High School on Duvall Highway.
Information about state and federal financial aid, plus details about filling out the FAFSA will be available.
For more information, call the Northeast High School guidance department at 437-6400.
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Looking for a nonalcoholic, family-style New Year's Eve celebration close to home? Then check out the annual Square Dance and Family Fun Night at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Tick Neck Road.
The evening starts at 6 p.m. with potluck supper, then it's do-si-do until midnight.
A Communion service to welcome in the new year is planned at midnight. Breakfast will be served after the service.
For more information, call the church at 255-1070.
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The Cancer Resource and Support Center (CaRES) reopens Tuesday with a packed calendar for January.
Next week there will be programs for survivors of ovarian cancer and survivors of colon cancer at 7 p.m. Tuesday, a brown bag lunch rap session from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday. Also on Wednesday there will be a program for newly diagnosed cancer patients at 1 p.m. and a support group session from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Free 30-minute seated massages will be offered from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
CaRES is an independent, nonprofit organization offers a place where cancer patients and their families can gather for free social, educational and emotional support.
For more information, call the center at 760-2273.
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If you have a Pasadena item for this column, call Peg Adamarczyk at 437-6343.