Friday, February 27, 2004
The ultimate Valentine
I know a man who nursed his wife almost full-time for the last four years while she slowly died of cancer. He refused to put her into a home, because of his love for her.
I know a woman who nursed her husband for many years while he gradually slipped into the no-man's world of Alzheimer's Disease. I have an uncle who is doing the same for my aunt. It is hard. Bloody hard. And sometimes it all seems like too much. He gets irritable, and it's not surprising. But he loves her, and he won't abandon her. Sometimes it is only a sense of duty that keeps him going. That might seem like an old-fashioned concept, but isn't it a wonderful thing when it produces something so deeply compassionate. It defines humanity in a way that few things can.
This is my salute to all the amazing people who do this day in, day out. You are heroes whom the world will probably never give a medal, but without whom we would be sadly diminished.
Your loved one probably never gave you a Valentine's card this year. I think that one day God will reward you with the ultimate one. If anyone can be said to deserve Heaven, it will be people such as yourself.
I know a man who nursed his wife almost full-time for the last four years while she slowly died of cancer. He refused to put her into a home, because of his love for her.
I know a woman who nursed her husband for many years while he gradually slipped into the no-man's world of Alzheimer's Disease. I have an uncle who is doing the same for my aunt. It is hard. Bloody hard. And sometimes it all seems like too much. He gets irritable, and it's not surprising. But he loves her, and he won't abandon her. Sometimes it is only a sense of duty that keeps him going. That might seem like an old-fashioned concept, but isn't it a wonderful thing when it produces something so deeply compassionate. It defines humanity in a way that few things can.
This is my salute to all the amazing people who do this day in, day out. You are heroes whom the world will probably never give a medal, but without whom we would be sadly diminished.
Your loved one probably never gave you a Valentine's card this year. I think that one day God will reward you with the ultimate one. If anyone can be said to deserve Heaven, it will be people such as yourself.
