It’s Just a Fax
Today my heart sunk deep into my chest when a friend asked me for a simple favor.
“Do receive faxes there?”
"Well, yes of course" I replied.
“Ok, I am going have my itinerary sent to you, can you bring it home? I am checking in for my flight now, you will receive my boarding passes.”
“Sure, not a problem.” I replied - a simple favor, right?
Well, it would be a simple favor for most, and even for me, it’s not complicated, and it’s quite important, so there shouldn’t be a problem. For me, however, it is a problem and, at that moment I was stung by a thought, a subtle memory that had slipped from my mind, another forgotten day. It was this quiet moment at which I answered with a very assuring, “that’s no problem!” that I realized that it was in fact a problem. If my memory has served me well, and in this case I wish it hadn’t, I remembered the look of disbelief, and defeat when I showed up empty handed, and apathetic.
“Can’t” unfortunately has not been in my vocabulary for some time, and for that fact I have presented myself in a way that tends to be very defeating, and untrue. It was at this moment that I realized the importance, and I really was sorry. For the first time, the weight of the situation pressed against my consciousness in an unsettling attempt at salvation. I was wrong, and I let you down. I didn’t feel the weight then, but I never knew a piece of paper could weight so much.