The Last Thing

James and I began the process of filing our taxes this weekend. Because Zachary lived for a time, though it was short, we were given a social security card and instructed to include him as we filed our return for 2007. The card came in the mail about ten days after he died and has sat unpunched from its perforation all these nine months. It's been tucked away in a memory box in the scrapbooking room with a blanket and a wristband, but this weekend, it surfaced for its first and final purpose.

We cried as we entered his name.
We cried as we entered his number.
We cried as we clicked submit and recognized this is the very last thing that we have to do for our child.