Yesterday was an anniversary, of sorts. Just one month ago, my honey lay in a hospital bed in a semi-coma.....we weren't sure if he would ever wake up. Without a doubt, it was one of the worst days, of my life. Thankfully, God had other plans.....
Today, an elderly man is being laid to rest in a cemetery in Simpson County, MS. His story didn't end as well as my honey's did.
The little old couple sat, together, in the sunroom of the Nursing Home/Swing Bed facility. He sat in his wheelchair, and she sat beside him. She often reached over and touched his hand. I pushed Bob's wheelchair into the sunroom, on that Sunday afternoon (the only Sunday we were there), and I sat in the chair next to his wheelchair and beside the elderly man. The old man seldom spoke and when he did I wasn't able to understand what he was trying to say - but his wife did. She seemed to carry on a conversation, of sorts, with him. He stared at the television but didn't appear to be paying attention, nor did she.
"Is that your husband?" she asked me.
"Yes," I replied.
"How long you been married?" she asked.
"It will be 54 years, in August," I told her.
"We been married 52 years," she said as she gently touched his arm - and smiled.
I saw them a couple of times after that, and she was always by his side. My heart literally broke and I cried this week when I realized that he was the victim of the tragedy, at the Nursing Home. She had also become a victim for he would no longer be by her side......no longer there for her sweet smile and her gentle touch. I wondered how well she understood what had happened. I had chatted for only a few minutes, and I had no idea of her level of understanding.
I know that things happen for a reason. I've not yet figured out the reason or the plan, and maybe it isn't for me to know. God never gives us more than we can stand......although there are times it seems to come close. Their image still invades my mind........she sits by him with her hand on his arm and a smile on her face. May God keep her close.
RIP - Mr. Park......
#NursingHome #tragedy #couple
Ramblings of a southern Mississippi woman from her front porch.
