Finding the right person for you is no easy task. This is a true story about my friend, Lise Johnson. I wrote it in her voice because it’s personal (and powerful).
What makes someone the right person?
My mother became terminally ill. Naturally, it was a shock to the family, especially my dad.
The road to the end was brutal and long. My father stopped working at our family business to stay home with Mom. The business quickly folded. We were forced to cut back and exhaust our savings.
Taking care of Mom was a full-time job for Dad. But he was determined to spend every last second with her.
My mother loved it at home. She didn’t want to be in a hospital, but rather surrounded by family, memories, the things she knew. And my dad would have it no other way.
Friends and family pitched in to help, but Dad was on duty ’round the clock. He slept by her bed, read to her, talked with her, shared photos with her, and spent hours caressing her skin.
The right person will do what it takes.
In the final two weeks, we moved Mom to Hospice. She needed professional care.
Dad slept there. He ate there. He ensured Mom was warm and comfortable every moment of the day. Dad even held her hand while she slept.
Occasionally, I’d urge Dad to go home to take a break and let me fill in. He wouldn’t.
When the final moment arrived, Dad knelt next to Mom’s bed, cupping her hand gently in his. She left us knowing he was there.
It hurt awfully to see Mom go, but it helped to know the remarkable love and care she received from my dad. Others saw it too.
Have you found the right person?
“Your dad’s devotion was like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said a nurse wistfully. “Never in all my years have I seen a man so devoted to a woman,” a doctor shared with me.
After mom died something happened that changed my perspective on love. A nurse who had spent considerable time with Mom approached me. “Lise,” she said, “I have something to share. When I started your mom’s care I was engaged to be married. But I ended it this morning.”
When I expressed sympathy, she interrupted, “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. It was my choice. The man who asked me to marry him was no match for your dad, Ralph. I didn’t know devotion like that existed. Now I do. So I decided to find a man like your dad. I want a Ralph.”
Have you found a Ralph?
