When we sat together for Thanksgiving dinner, I choked with emotion and found difficulty saying the blessing. My wonderful wife sat to my right. She had progressively gotten better each day after returning home. For that, I was the most thankful, as were our two children and two grandchildren.
For those seventeen days in September, despair overshadowed me. I wondered when/if she’d return home. Forgive me, but my writer’s mind has always looked at every angle with the proposed question: “What if …?” For novels, these analytical thoughts are a blessing. However, for personal events, I can be tormented by this cursed way of thinking; especially when I have no idea how the situation will end. Those days passed slowly and nights seemed an eternity.
But she sat with us at our table. Her presence was more radiant than ever, and for that, I was thankful and grateful. Though her eyes were tired, her smile lifted my spirit and our children’s and grandchildren’s. Her mental strength is remarkable. She’s one of the strongest people I know. She had kept fighting when I wonder if I could’ve managed the same courage to survive similar circumstances. Even now, I’m moved by tears of joy in having her home.
So many friends and family had responded to our requests for prayers and healing during September. I’ve no doubt she’s home because of these prayers and the constant encouragement.
She and I have always hugged a lot, but I hug her more often and longer than before. We tell one another how much we love each other throughout each day. Since she’s been home, she’s invested a lot of time in her drawing and painting and produces fantastic art on a daily basis. I marvel at her creativity and how skilled she is.
While we express our thanks most often at Thanksgiving, each day is an opportunity to show gratitude to those we cherish and love. I have never taken my wife for granted, nor will I. I realize how empty my life would be without her. She’s always been the one to encourage me with my writing. Her honest critiques of my prose point me to improvement. She is my muse, my best friend, and my wonderful wife.