True Love

One of my colleagues is at her grandfather's funeral today. I had to share a story that gave me chills when I heard it. A few months ago both her grandparents started going downhill. One of them ended up at a hospice and the other has been in and out of the hospital since. Her grandmother has been in a comatose state for the past 3 weeks. On Sunday night late she woke up and told the nurse "He's gone. He's in a better place now." The nurse documented it since she hadn't spoken in over a month. They found out a few hours later that was when her husband was passing. They were clearly soul mates and had a bond that we can only hope to understand.

The above scarf is one I made and sold last Valentine's Day with hearts knitted into it and a few removable beads I attached.

My True Love Part 2

Thanks so much for indulging me on my anniversary week. I told Mike not to read my blog this week until I told him to and he said not to worry that he lives my blog so he doesn't have to read it. I was once talking to Mike about how I couldn't believe that my sister married someone so much like my father (macho, traditional values and ideas about relationships, and highly impatient). Mike came back with the fact that I shouldn't be surprised since I had married my mother (catty, loves to tell stories and gossip, lazy, and passive). I couldn't believe that he was the one to point it out to me but it was totally true.

Mike and I have honestly had one total blowout in our entire relationship and it was about toilet paper, which is not as uncommon as you would think I have discovered. We have lots of little squabbles but they are almost immediately forgotten. When we first started dating I tried to instigate fights since that was what I knew but it just didn't work with him. His gentle and honest spirit is one of the things that I love most about him.

He absolutely adores his mother's poodle, Hershey, seen above. Mike sings songs to him and gushs over him every time we are at the house. My family thinks that I am depriving him of a pet but he insists the few weeks we watch him a year for Betty while she visits New York is all he needs.

He is also very good with kids and has legions of students and former students who adore him. He calls himself the King of the Nerds and his Physics classroom is often one of the few places that students feel like they can be themselves. My little niece Kate who is definitely a nerd in training has been in love with him since she was an infant. He was one of the few people she would let hold her when she was a baby and as a toddler would follow bald, heavy set men around that looked like Mike. They have a real bond and I told him it was because he was the only one she considers an intellectual equal. The kids moving has actually been almost as hard on him as me in fact.
The fact that he would make such a great father is one of the main reasons I'm so torn right now about our decision not to have kids. There is a real part of me that feels like I'm depriving him of that role but he insists it is not something he needs in his life and is perfectly content either way. I know this is true since he is so honest and would have no problem telling me otherwise and Mike really is a content soul. He is happy with our life together and finds joy in his job and hobbies. I have no doubt he would be happy as a father or as a beloved uncle whichever way it all works out.