Glasses on a Desk

There is a vision in my head today that I just can't let go of. It's a room and i can see it just as if I were there.

The walls in the room are a crisp green reminiscent of spring. This impression is heightened by the sunlight streaming through the blinds on the big windows.

Bookcases and file cabinets in light woods and shiny metal circle the room. They are filled with office supplies and the documentation of a life.

A large, glass and metal, L-shaped desk dominates the center of the room. On it sits the computer, phone, pens, a clock and other essentials.

A stack of holiday cards sits alongside an equal pile of envelopes with the return address labels already affixed. They continue to wait for the personal touches that will never come.

Paperwork emblazoned with names of financial institutions lays near the cards. Handwritten notations line the margins of these pension notification and a pair of reading glasses sit atop it – abandoned.

Today would’ve been my father’s 65th birthday and I know that he was really looking forward to this day and retirement in general so it’s doubly hard. Retirement to him meant that things would be a little easier – finances a little less tight. It hurts to think of all the anticipation and the planning for a retirement that never came.

Happy Birthday Dad!