Lost

Occasionally Tracy and I have this silly argument.

It usually starts with Tracy saying "You'd be totally lost without me." A true statement usually triggered by me being forgetful or otherwise unaware of something I should, as a father and husband, probably know. Knowledge gaps may include; when the kids should be picked up, where the kids should be picked up, what medicine they're taking, when they're supposed to take it, where the medicine is, what time school starts, what time school ends, the names of their teachers, the names of our neighbors, how to set the sprinklers, when bills are due, which bills are due, when mother's day is coming, when father's day is coming... The list, unfortunately for me, goes on.

My unoriginal and one-dimensional response is usually, "Well you'd be lost without me too." After which I half-heartedly mumble words like "house payment", "weedeater"and "401k".

It's a silly argument. But that doesn't change the fact that we're both right. There are many things I allow myself to forget only because I know Tracy remembers them. There are things Tracy never does only because she knows I am doing them. Tracy doesn't know how to put on a "beanie baby show", fix the internet or flip an omelet. I still can't name the flowers in our front yard, make gravy or pick the perfect Christmas dress for the girls. Neither of us get the Disney Channel.

But what if something happens? Doesn't this leave us vulnerable? Absolutely every day. But if you've ever trusted someone enough to let your guard all the way down, and have felt the joy of total dependence on someone else, you wouldn't have it any other way.

In Memoriam - We love and will miss you Steve Brown. We feel lost without your wit, patience and perspective. Long live the Oryx hunter.