Friday, January 9, 2015

Requiem for a coat

My dear gray coat -

I bought you on a whim. $80 for a nice winter coat just seemed like a good deal. But you weren't simply just a warm coat. You taught me what a coat should be.

In bitter cold, your two layers kept me warm while I snowshoed across lakes. On warmer days, when I just needed shelter from the wind, the zippers in the armpits let me walk steep trails without overheating. When I was whitewashed sledding, your snow skirt kept the snow from going down my pants. Enjoying the campfire after a long day of canoeing was so much better with you there to keep off the chill.

That's why I fought for you. When your front zipper broke, I used the snaps instead. When the snaps fell off, I replaced them myself. When the seams by the pockets became undone, I stitched them together myself.

But you've probably noticed you haven't moved much lately. You may have even noticed I've been going out in another coat. Sadly, it's time for us to part. You've grown too ragged and too stained. There are too many broken seams to fix. Frankly, people are beginning to mistake me for homeless if I carry too many plastic bags.

But I will always remember the snowy woods we explored together, the mountains we climbed, the oceans we crossed, and the lakes we paddled.

RIP