Page 71 - North Star Magazine 2022

My Father’s Last Day
by Ashleigh Barcomb
Trigger Warning: Death
Part 1: “See You at Six”
August 22, 2019
It is the first day going back to work after all these years. I haven’t worked since 2016. It will be great to earn revenue and work experience since I am about to start my first year of college. My father is more laid back and sometimes orders me to go out of my comfort zone, so I can become more independent. My mom is more controlling, but still loves me regardless. I want to prove to my parents that I am capable of handling life, despite my mental disabilities. I’m a child mind stuck inside an adult body.
Before leaving, I learned how to tie my own shoes thanks to WikiHow. People have known how to tie their own shoes since they were little; however, it went in one ear and out the other for me. In the past, I had to double loop it and stuff the strings inside my shoe. Every time I’ve walked,
I hope that my laces don’t fall out. A teacher took my time out of recess in fifth grade to teach me. My old friend ridiculed me about it in sixth grade.
“I can’t believe you don’t know how to tie your own shoes!” She said to me while tying them for me as we waited for Mrs. Hileman, our gym teacher, to escort us out of the locker room to the gym.
Today, I am successful in remembering it all! It was one step towards adulthood.
That one step with a mortal price to pay.
My father drives me to work with my car. He told me that he wanted to show the way, so I could know my way to the bridal shop. It’s one of the busiest sections in Plattsburgh and one of the stores you will see off Exit 37.
“Don’t eat mom’s dinner,” my dad says while we wait for the light to