I almost hyperventilated when I signed the papers


I do my own taxes, Reader. Well. Me and TurboTax, anyway. I've been doing it this way since 2000 — the year I bought my first home. A little cabin on the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Buying a house by myself was not in my Original Life Plan. I always assumed I'd be married and buy a house with my spouse someday. You know, the "way it was done". But 26 years ago, my best friend had just gotten married, forcing me to find a new roommate, and then six months into THAT my new roommate...