You finally get the W-2 from that place you worked at for an eye-blink while you were laid off last year. Or that IRA interest statement you searched for in vain in April finally shows up under Couch Cushion Number 3. Or maybe you've come to understand that letting your fourth-grader do your addition on your taxes as a parent-daughter bonding moment may only have had short-term benefits.

No matter what the reason, reality finally sinks in: You've got to change your income tax return. Now what?

The appearance of spring means plants blooming, warmer days, and - dare we say it -- maybe, a trip to the beach? It also means the passage of ice on the windshield, shoveling snow, cold morning commutes -- and thankfully -- tax season.

The measure of relief one feels as April 15 goes streaking by may very well hinge on just how much difficulty you had to overcome in the filing process. And if your tax experience this year was Number One on the Nail-Biting Hit List, we'd like to help.

My, don't we look comfy. Stretched out on that big old couch, chips-and-salsa locked and loaded. You even dug up one of those little paper umbrellas from last summer's pool party for your iced tea! Does the purple umbrella clash with your pink bunny slippers? Nope, we didn't think so, either.

Fashion statement aside, you deserve to feel proud of yourself right about now. You got your paperwork organized early last year, and when it came time to file your taxes, everything you needed was right at your fingertips. Got your return filled out and e-filed in record time, right?

If you've checked your calendar today (and we certainly hope you have) you've seen that we are now in the month of April. And that means, of course, that we are also in the home stretch of the 2013 tax season.
If the reality of that fact hasn't quite soaked in yet, please allow us to throw a little light on the situation. And perhaps a little cold water for good measure.

For those of you who haven't filed your income taxes yet, you have less than 16 days to do so. Like my grandma used to say, "Time to bust a move."

Most years, filing our taxes follows pretty much the same pattern. We start out by assembling the various pieces of paper we'll need -- receipts, statements, W-2s and the like. Then we sit down and just do it. We fill in the various forms, make sure it's all there -- and then click that big SEND button to get that very large monkey off our back.

But sometimes, things just don't go as planned.