On a recent afternoon, I curled up to watch The Best of Me, a Nicholas Sparks film from 2014. The movie was a good romance, though it wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen. At one point, however, a young woman asks an elderly gentleman about his late wife:
Amanda: How long were y’all married?
Tuck: We’re still married. We’re just on different schedules.
That line definitely tugged at my heartstrings. My paternal grandparents had been married for 57 years when my grandfather died; my grandmother lived for five years after that. During the majority of my life, my grandfather could not drive due to macular degeneration, a condition that can cause major vision impairment. Every year on their wedding anniversary, my grandfather would have my grandmother drive him to the grocery store so that he could buy her roses.
After my grandfather died, I knew how much my grandmother missed him even though I was living in another state. When their wedding anniversary occurred six months after his death, I decided to continue his tradition, and each year on their anniversary I sent her flowers with a note that I was remembering them both on their special day. Love did not end just because he had died. It just transformed. Every year on their birthdays, death days, and anniversary, I still remember them even though I can only send them energetic roses now.
© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
Amanda: How long were y’all married?
Tuck: We’re still married. We’re just on different schedules.
That line definitely tugged at my heartstrings. My paternal grandparents had been married for 57 years when my grandfather died; my grandmother lived for five years after that. During the majority of my life, my grandfather could not drive due to macular degeneration, a condition that can cause major vision impairment. Every year on their wedding anniversary, my grandfather would have my grandmother drive him to the grocery store so that he could buy her roses.
After my grandfather died, I knew how much my grandmother missed him even though I was living in another state. When their wedding anniversary occurred six months after his death, I decided to continue his tradition, and each year on their anniversary I sent her flowers with a note that I was remembering them both on their special day. Love did not end just because he had died. It just transformed. Every year on their birthdays, death days, and anniversary, I still remember them even though I can only send them energetic roses now.
© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC
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