To Keep a Father Company

Scrolling through posts tagged “father” on this Father’s Day, I came across this—the little stuffed Eeyore I’d saved from the trash and repaired to give my father, Daniele, because my father loved that character. His license plate even read EEYORE.

I gave the toy to Daniele before he went on what turned out to be his last trip. He and my sister went to the California coast, where my father took this photo. You can see the paper I’d clipped onto Eeyore reads,

“To keep Daniele company”:

Eeyore stayed on my father’s bedside table throughout his final illness—he died in 2017, five summers ago. My sister chose a few things to accompany our father into the cremation fires. Eeyore was among them. My message was still attached. 

My father hadn’t ever been easy with me. I am grateful that sometimes toys can do what we humans can’t.