love

yesterday (love day) i was at the hospital for my clinical rotations. my patient was, without a doubt, the most adorable man i've ever met. 90 years old and walking strolling the halls like he was in central park. he had the brightest countenance & he exuded that wonderful grandpa-ness that just makes you smile. in no time he was calling me "nick" & we were discussing the tragedy of Whitney Houston's death.

we talked a little about our lives, where we live, what we do, where we're from...
he asked how long i've been married and when i replied "17 months" he got this look in his eye & told me that he and "sweetheart" were celebrating sixty five years this summer. the look was what i think joy, devotion, true love, tenderness, excitement, butterflies and gratitude would look like through sweet grandpa tears. it was perfect, it made me pause.

the hours flew by & all too soon he was leaving and i was left patient-less. normally i consider that a lucky day (terrible, i know), but this time i was so sad. he was such a doll. his daughter came to pick him up & as we were chatting she opened a little window into his life for me.

she told me that he needed to get back home to take care of his wife who was in a wheelchair & battling dementia. he has taken care of her around the clock for years. how interesting that such a trial was nothing to deter the love and devotion her felt for his sweet wife. i thought back to our converstaion about marriage & couldn't recall a trace of heartache or regret or weariness when he spoke of her. his pure love was so evident and it really stunned me to the core. we said our good-byes and he gave me the sweet old man wink-&-wave and that was it.

he was so eager to return to a life that some would call binding, unfair or even cruel.
but he was just missing his love.

what a man.
what a valentine's day.