One year ago...

February 3, 2002

I took the Wednesday off...no, wait, I had quit by then. I know for sure that it was a bright Wednesday however. The two o'clock sun was shining bright, the air clear, the lake calm.

I drove like a maniac through the one way streets, trying to finish up the errands before the end of the day. Wet-vac returned? Check. Stuff in storage? Check.

I frantically cleared out the closet, bathroom, and kitchen. I had no real deadline, but I didn't want to linger, 'cause I'd start to reflect, then start to wonder, and I'd waste the rest of the day sitting there. I wasn't racing against time; I was racing against memory.

I ended up with a roll of paper towels, a roll of toilet paper (I left one roll in the bathroom for the next tenants), a few coat hangers, and bottles of water.

The sunlight streamed though the open windows. We had taken pretty good care of the apartment; there was no trace of our lives. It was new, pristine, ready for another set of people.

I thought of tossing the keys into the air as I closed the door to make my exit dramatic.

But who would see that?

Instead, I placed the keys in an envelope with a note to the owner, thanking him for letting us stay, and with my address for the deposit.

I couldn't help but pause before the mail-slot. This was it, no more looking back. The end of a life of three-and-a-half-years. Once the envelope leaves my hand, I can look forward to the future, one I had some plans for.

I tossed the envelope in, walked straight out the door, climbed into my car, and headed to my new home.

Except that I had forgotten about the garage door opener...