kristen is doing well at home. there have been tense moments and calls to the doctors, and there has been pain. but there has been more joy than than i would have dreamed of two weeks ago.
my father is fond of saying that love is an action not a feeling - that "loving" someone is mostly not romantic. with family gone this week and the full weight of kristen's care bearing down, i realize love is sometimes just plain old hard work.
but friends have dropped in to say hello. they bring smiles and a potent reminder to kristen of who she is. a lot of friends have also called. if you're waiting for the right moment, now is it.
a special few friends, full of decency and generosity, have travelled from far away to help. imagine this: drop what you're doing to take a train to a city you barely know. grab a cab to a house that's not your own. sit with a friend in need. for a moment, feel her pain. then feed and care for her children while wondering where the plates are. "where is the apple juice?" help her take her pills. maybe spend the night and give her the gift of sleep. maybe your own children are waiting at home. such kindness can not be repaid. i can only hope to one day pass it along.
my mom arrives tomorrow and will be with us a month. that should help me be a better nurse and a better husband. if there's no other value to the institution of marriage, it's the promise made in the presence of loved ones: in sickness and in health.
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