Today Mom and I went to the Sprint store to get our phone bills put in my name. Until this morning, my cell phone bill was the only parent-subsidized element in my life, the one thing getting in the way of my complete self-sufficiency. This formality had carried a surprising weight with me, but Dad refused to let me become a “real adult” on his watch and eventually I stopped pushing the issue. Maybe it’s a logical first step following his passing, but today I officially became a grown-up.
In looking for the account information, Mom found a business card from an old customer. On the back of it, Dad had written a quote from Rabindranath Tagore in pencil:
Death is not Extinguishing the Light.
It is putting out the Lamp because the Dawn Has Come
We thought that was pretty good.
On a less spooky and funnier note, she also found a letter he saved that I wrote to Santa as a child, which i’ve transcribed for your amusement because damn:
Dear Santa,
All I want this year is for my parents to Stop fighting, If I get any presents I will either:
a) flush them down the toilet.
b) throw them under my bed without even opening them
c) give them to my brother
d) wright write you another letter to tell you how much I would rather have a lump of coal.
If I was not good enough to get any presents, Good! I will not improve.
Sinser Yours Truley Truly,
Mary
Nobody buys this girl off, i’ll tell you what.
Aside from not feeling particularly thankful, thanksgiving this year was quiet and nice. Afterward it was less quiet (but still nice) when I went drinking with Ian and some old friends. We played two-man which should really be called “screw one person” and guess who got dealt a two twice. I had a horrible hangover this morning to match my sore back (note to self: raking leaves is not a good activity for perfectionists).
But we took care of the phone thing and got to visit with Uncle John and Aunt Tammy and the baby, and then Pete and I went to Chris’ place to see his black friday prize and eat taco bell and bond over how shitty our lives have been and probably will be without our dad and overall that conversation was actually more uplifting than depressing, so that makes several nice things that happened today. in conclusion, my first experiences as a Real Adult have been at least a step above the hell from the last post. It’s a start.