24
The apology note I left at my brother's old workbench
I drove out to my brother's old workshop last week, place has been empty since he moved to Tucson 2 years ago. I stood there looking at that scratched up workbench and finally saw all the little dents and burn marks from his soldering iron that I used to complain about. It hit me that I never apologized for making him feel bad about the mess, when that bench was where he built the motorized skateboard that got us both through that rough winter. I wrote this whole long letter on a receipt I found in my coat pocket, telling him I was wrong and that I admired his patience with all those tiny wires. I never sent it because I realized it wasn't really about the bench, it was about me being jealous he could focus on something while I was always jumping between jobs. Has anyone else gone back to a place you used to argue about and just felt stupid for what you said back then? What do you do with that guilt when the person has already moved on and doesn't even bring it up anymore?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
jasonallen28d ago
Motorized skateboard, man, that detail alone made me stop scrolling. I think feeling stupid is the whole point, though, like your brain finally catches up to what your mouth said ten years ago.
2