My schedule changes a lot depending on what happens in Selma each day.  As someone who primarily covers sports, there’s usually a lot of late nights already.

Basketball, football and baseball games can often stretch deep into the evening hours and the work after them — writing, editing, going through photos, designing page(s) — can take hours on top of that.

Luckily, working on deadline is one of the parts of my job I strangely enjoy. It often brings out my best writing, keeps my foot to the gas and forces me to work quickly.

Depending on the season, my schedule changes a bit. During football season, Fridays are obviously late nights, often stretching into the wee hours of Saturday morning. Basketball isn’t quite as late and baseball is an unknown, since there isn’t a clock.

But my life schedule changes more in mid-April than any other time of the year.

My wife is an accountant, who also does tax preparation, and anyone who does those jobs understands the taxing hours people in that field work from January-April.

For those of you that have never thought about it, don’t feel bad. I hadn’t given it much thought before I met Alyssa and watched her work through long, 12-13 hour days and six-day workweeks.

But on Wednesday, the tax season was officially over, prompting a celebratory dinner at the Evans household.

The deadline was a couple of days later than usual this year because the normal deadline fell on a Saturday and because Emancipation Day — a national holiday — fell on a Monday.

That meant an even longer tax season for anyone who works in that field.  Many tax preparers will spend the next few days going on a well-deserved vacation and getting some rest, but if you see one walking around, I recommend greeting them with open arms and giving them a hug.

You don’t have to say anything. They’ll know what it’s for.

On deadline day, companies always offer special deals for customers, but someone needs to do something just for accountants.

We all have our busy season. There’s always that big report that needs to be completed or a deadline that has to be met in every company, but most busy seasons don’t last three and a half months.

All of us dread doing our taxes and many of us put it off to the last minute, then expect instant results.

It’s just human nature. We put off things we don’t enjoy until later. I do it, you do it, we all do it.

But here’s a little plea, from the husband of someone who works on taxes for a living. Next year, do the person who’s doing your taxes a favor and get the information in a little earlier. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.  And, if National Hug Your Accountant Day becomes a real thing, remember you read it here first.