Forgetfulness

Jenny's power went out in the hurricane.
No tv for her
or coffee in the afternoon.
She had a freezer full of food,
full and brimming over,
and she worried
alone in her hot house.
Someone loaned her a generator
or she bought it - I forget which.
She plugged it in
and the noisy thing
kept all her food cold
and frozen
safe for a later time.

For two weeks she lived in that hot house
sweating in the daytime,
leaving it at night for cooler quarters
and the loud machine
kept all her food cold.

One day out of the blue
electrical power came back on.
Just like that
in an instant
with no warning
all the machines
went humming in her house.
Joy to the world!

Happily she unplugged that squabbling generator
and went out and about on her merry way
sleeping at home again
watching all her favorite shows
sparkling and happy once more.

A few days later she noticed the smell.
All the food was bad.
The freezer was plugged into the surge protector
but the surge protector was not
plugged into an electrical outlet.
So she emptied her freezer of rotting food
and put it all in the trash.

It's the little things that trip you up in life
like forgetting to plug something in
or not remembering to turn the coffee pot on before bedtime
so the coffee will be waiting in the morning
or mailing the payment in the nick of time
without a stamp on the envelope.

Is it age that makes us forgetful
or are we inundated with too many things to remember?
Help us to be gentle with ourselves
as we struggle not to make stupid mistakes.