True Love

 We all remember those notes that were passed in grade school. You know, the ones that said, Johnny + Sally = True Love. Well, today, I am witnessing True Love in action. It's a pretty powerful thing to see.

I sit in the hospital room across the bedside tray from my father-in-law, with my mother-in-law on the other side of his bed and am reminded moment by moment of the blessings of family and just exactly what true love is. You see, eight days ago Dad underwent surgery to remove cancer, his esophagus, and part of his stomach. What was left of his stomach now makes up a new esophagus and a very small stomach. Of course, it will be a few weeks before he can use this rearranged gear, but I am witness that his heart is doing just fine. The heart of who he is.

I have a picture on my phone that I took when he was dozing, because he probably wouldn't have let me take one if he were awake. It is not of his face, however, but of his hand, gently holding Mom's. It is amazing how much a simple touch conveys, not only between the two who are touching, but also to those who observe. That simple holding of the hands says volumes about this couple who care so deeply for each other.

Periodically, Mom will get up from her chair, lean over the bed and give Dad a kiss. Just as often, perhaps more so, he will say, "I love you," and she will reply in kind. Mom is going blind from complications due to diabetes, and needs help with most things these days. Dad has told every hospital staff member he's come in contact with that he has to get well soon so he can go home and take care of his wife. Even here, he orders a proper lunch for her each day, checks her insulin levels, and measures out her insulin if she needs it. He also has her medical schedule in his cell phone with reminders set to go off a day in advance so he can make sure she is taken where she needs to go when she needs to be there.

My in-laws have 5 adult children and their spouses living in the area, plus an assortment of grandchildren. We are taking turns at the hospital each day to help Mom get up to the room, help with her meals, etc. While I have stopped in for visits several times, today is my first chance to be here during Mom's daily visit. Over the 30+ years that I have known them, I have recognized my in-law's love for each other, but today I have witnessed the depth of that love as I have never seen it before. I  have seen a man, who just a few days ago had his whole upper GI rearranged, looking beyond his own pain and discomfort in order to take care of the woman he loves. Even through the mental slurriness of the pain meds, his first thought is to make sure that she is cared for.

The day has had some poignant moments, and there is little doubt that I will long ponder the many lessons in love that I have witnessed in the last few hours. The thing that is indelibly etched into my memory, however, is that tender holding of the hands, that touch that conveyed a lifetime of love lived and the promised years of love yet to come. True Love.