Three months ago, today I lost the dearest treasure on all the earth to me. My precious wife of 50 years married succumbed to her long, long battle with cancer. On the occasion of our Golden Anniversary, our dear sweet children presented us with a 1974 green – ‘it had to be green’ – Volkswagen […]
Letter: The Most Important Hour of the Day
Two days before she died – the end approaching following her long, long battle with cancer – I was reading to her from our favorite author who wrote a fictional, whimsical series of romance novels we’d come across early in our marriage, some 50 years before. She was asleep, I think, so I gently lifted […]
Letter: At a Loss
At a loss for words. At a loss for purpose. At a loss to understand. The Greek word διηπόρει (diēporei) means “to be in trouble, doubt, difficulty.” To be disquieted in mind and heart. No sense can be made of the present circumstance. Tormented. Distressed. Unsettled. Apropos is the word for today as I reflect this […]
Letter: It’s About Time
Is this what a baseball looks like – the stuffing knocked out of it – after the slugger gets ahold of an opposing team’s fastball left hanging over the center of the plate? Or, more likely, is this a baseball that a dog got ahold of, or a lawnmower chewed up as a result of […]
Letter: Hope In Grief
We had a spell of weather recently that was for us unusually warm for the spring of this year. I opened windows for ventilation and continued on about the sentimental task of sorting through boxes upon boxes of 50 years accumulation of memories my wife had carefully categorized into all manner of keepsakes. Baby pictures, […]
Letter: Three Diamonds
Our family celebrated my birthday just days ago, and for the first time in our 50 years of marriage, my wife was not there. But though she had lost her battle with cancer two months previous, she had a gift just the same. How do you prepare for the final goodbye? Except to stay very […]
Letter: “The Grandkids Still Need You”
The evening of the first day of spring of this year, as the flower garden announced that soon it would be resplendent with the brilliant color of blossoms in abundance as indicated by the proliferation of green sprouts everywhere, my dearest treasure on all this earth, fifty years my traveling companion, ended her battle with […]
Letter: Hearts On a String
It was the day before this last Valentine’s Day. And it was to be our last. “You’ve battled well. It’s been a long journey,” her oncologist said, “but we’ve reached the end.” I suppose we’d expected – one day – to hear those words. But not that day. And not any day, anytime soon. But now […]
Letter: Upon Returning Home
It was a generic birthday card for my wife mailed to our home. As I returned from the mailbox, sorting through the bills and advertisements, there it was. The balloons and flowers and best wishes for a “Happy Birthday!” emblazoned on the envelope brought me pause, and I stood for a moment at the gate. […]