Have you ever used your toaster and thought “I wonder how many pieces of bread it’s seen?” Just me? Okay. Well, regardless, it was a recent question I had because I have an old toaster and it’s never broken down. It just keeps on toastin’. I’ve started to wonder just how long my toaster will live before it decides it wants to stop. It has to have toasted approximately 6,000 pieces of bread by now, and it’s got to give up at some point. When thinking about if and when it does, I feel an odd sensation of grief.
Sure, sometimes the lever doesn’t stay down on its own which is momentarily annoying, but I don’t want my toaster to die. Maybe it sounds weird, but my toaster has watched me grow up. Every morning before elementary school, that same toaster toasted the bread for my ritual cinnamon toast snack. It toasted my bread for those tuna, ham, or peanut butter sandwiches my mom always packed me for lunch. It keeps small memories, but they matter to me. So, for the sake of never losing them, what’s one more piece of bread?
Veronica is a Staff Writer at The Cascade. She loves to travel and explore new places, no matter how big or small. She is in her second year at UFV, pursuing the study of Creative
Writing.