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Bex Hall > Memoir in Objects > Another letter from Dad

Another letter from Dad

March 7, 2022

and what I wish I could have said

Another letter from Dad

March 28, 1977

He writes almost a year after my car accident and says he wishes he could have been with me, but he couldn’t, “… however I have to live with that, nobody else.”

— Am I nobody? I had to live with it too.

He writes he received my last letter and, “… wanted to respond but was in turmoil between courts and all of those other legal hassles, etc.”

— But I wasn’t important enough for you to pick up the phone?

He writes, “You should be adjusting just fine by now and the saying goes – it gets worse before it gets better.”

— Adjusting fine? I have to wear a leg brace to middle school and use crutches to get around to seven different classes. They shaved my long hair off because of the injuries and it’s growing in like down on a chick. I am wearing braces on my crooked teeth. I’m a hot mess. If it’s going to get worse than this, I don’t want to know what’s next. Thanks for the advice.

But he sends all his love.

— Why is it not enough for me?


At first, I kept the letter as a substitute for him. I knew he had touched the paper, had put a pen in his hand, and put the words on the pages.

Now, I keep the letter because it’s a reminder we’re all human, perfectly imperfect.

Today, I know he loved me in the only way he knew how. And that IS enough.


This is the 14th story in the Objects as Waypoints Writing Project series.

Filed Under: Memoir in Objects Tagged With: the 100 day project 2022, the objects

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About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

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  • The 100 Day Project

    50 short stories in 100 days.

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  • Creative practice goals:

    Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

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