pplinker, you have a good heart.
Well said Hawgdawg. Your comment about spending Christmas at the rest home with your mom, reminded me of a
story I read a while ago. It so moved me that I saved it in my computer and included it here (pplinker, sorry, I'm not
trying to highjack your thread, but had to share this).
The story is told by a nurse working at a hospital. Here it goes:
“It was approximately 8.30 a.m. on a busy morning when an elderly gentleman in his eighties
arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment
at 9.00 a.m.
I took his vital signs and had him take a seat. I knew it would take more than an hour before someone would be
able to attend to him. I saw him check his watch anxiously for the time and decided to evaluate his wound since
I was not busy with another patient.
On examination, the wound was well healed. Hence, I talked to one of the doctors to get the supplies to remove
his sutures and redress his wound.
We began to engage in a conversation while I was taking care of his wound. I asked him if he had another doctor’s
appointment later as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no and said that he needed to go to the nursing
home to have breakfast with his wife.
I inquired about her health. He told me that she had been in the nursing home for a while as she was a victim of
Alzheimer’s disease. I probed further and asked if she would be upset if he was slightly late. He replied that she no
longer knew who he was and she had not been able to recognize him since five years ago.
I asked him in surprise, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’
He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’
I had to hold back my tears as he left.
I had goosebumps on my arm, and I thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’
True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.”