It's Better To Have Loved

A friend of Greg's family passed away a few days ago. He and his wife were married for almost 70 years. Take a minute to process that. 70 years. That's pretty amazing. I can't imagine the emptiness his wife must feel after losing a lifetime partner. How strange would it be after such a long time to wake up without your spouse? To have your morning coffee alone? To have no one there for dinner, or to share idle chit-chat about the day with, or to snuggle with at night? After a meager 7 years in comparison (4 married), I cannot imagine my life without Greg. How much stronger will my emotions run after decades?

The old cliche, "I love you more each day" is true. Each day I learn a little more, share a little more, bond a little more. It's true with our children, our spouses, our friends and family. I hear a lot about other women's husbands, what they do and don't do. I think it's common for women to compare, at least on some level, the amount of help they get, the amount of romance in our lives, the feeling of being supported. It's also common to focus on the deficits in one's marriage. It's not healthy to compare or to dwell on what is lacking. However, I know that when I do succumb to comparison, in my opinion, my husband still ranks higher than any other. I know without a doubt that he loves me and supports me. He helps as much as he can and he's definitely the romantic one in our relationship! Just last night I got a full body massage completely unprompted. How many of you can say the same?

I'm grateful for every moment, the highs and the lows. Every single second together is worth the work it takes to sustain us. I thank God every day for blessing me with Greg, and I pray that, like the Stocks, we live long healthy lives, able to cherish one another into ripe old age. And selfishly, I pray that I die first, so that I never have to know that incredible loss. But as they say, "Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."