Dear Coat: a break up letter

Dear Black Coat,

It’s not you; it’s me.

You were there for me in all circumstances. Work. Shopping. Dinner. Walks. You met my needs so well.

From that first encounter at Costco, I knew you were the next one for me, making it easy to ditch my ripped pocket, slightly stained companion at the time.

For a few weeks each year, occasionally longer, you weren’t enough and I turned to my parka for comfort. But you remained close by, never abandoned upstairs with the seasonal wear. From September through May, sometimes a cool June… never too bulky, just the right top layer, always easy to wear while shopping or sit on in the movie theater.

You weren’t perfect. Your hood always just too big and non adjustable, but still willing to flop forward and protect my glasses from the rain. I could have done without your belt loops and that belt that always fell off and that I never used. Your functional vibe was just never quite enough class for a night on the town. But I took you anyway. Loyal to a fault. My friends were too nice to tell me that I could do better.

And now, it’s not you: it’s me. No holes in the pockets. No tears or stains. Your colour just lightly faded with time. But I’ve outgrown our relationship.

I ignored you in May, rejecting you for a new spring fling. But today, on this rainy fall day, I saw you hanging there by the front door, and your lined pockets and hood, reminded me how important you were to me for so many years. So you were my first choice today, as it has been for so many years. But it’s not going to work. I can admit that now.

Thanks for keeping me dry. It’s time for me to find another that I can zip up.

We can still be friends… I can even help you meet someone else, unless you want to join a community of my devoted followers – a few nice jeans and tops- waiting in a box in hopes that “things will change’ and you’ll be back on the A list.

Wait. What if I never find another as special as you? Actually, why don’t you just stay there by the front door a little longer. I can make it work…

Oh, never mind. I just spotted something new…hood, zipper, mid length, water repellent, functional, black… deeper pockets…no belt! adjustable hood! Imagine that: on my first time out, and I wasn’t even really looking yet!

Dear Black Coat: I’ve moved on. You should too.

With love and no regret,

Me.