Nooooo! You can’t leave me! How will I manage?
You wanted to show me how to pay bills online, but I always said, “Maybe later,” thinking there was plenty of time for that boring stuff. And the safe-deposit box key! You told me to remember where you put it, but you didn’t tell me when I was listening!
And how can I begin to do laundry? All those rules: separating things, not using hot water with this or that, what needs to dry on the low-heat setting. I’ll ruin my clothes!
And OMG! Cooking! You said that one day I’d be sorry if I didn’t let you teach me basic cooking skills. You were right. It’s now “one day”; you’re dead; and I’m sorry I didn’t learn to cook. I can’t defrost ice cubes!
I let you take care of everything: watching expiration dates, taking out the trash, buying tickets, ordering Girl Scout cookies, the thermostat, calling repairmen, writing thank-you notes, dusting, and, oh, just absolutely everything!
I just let you do it all and never once, never once, did I say, “No. Thanks. I’ll do it.”
And now you’re gone, my irreplaceable, right-hand stuffed person. I could check the want ads, but I bet I won’t find “Irreplaceable Enabler. Let me do everything for you. Call this number.”
I’ve got to go now. It’s trash day; I have to look for the safe-deposit box key; I need to learn how to sort laundry; and I need to figure out how to call the stuffed-animal-disposal people.
Copyright © 2025 John Arthur Robinson
JOHN ARTHUR ROBINSON 