What Love Is

Today marks twenty eight years since these two lovely people were married for time and all eternity.

To be honest, my heart is breaking just a little thinking that they won't get to spend this day together for a long while still.

The loss of my dad is tragic for so many reasons, but one of the main ones is knowing that he and my mom must be separated for the rest of this earthly life.

As a wife I can only imagine the loneliness and emptiness that losing your love can bring, and I know my mom hurts everyday she lives without my dad.

My parents and their unwavering love for one another will always be one of the greatest examples of commitment and selflessness in my life.

From the first moment I can remember my dad was completely enamored with my sweet mom.

I remember him taking her hand and holding and kissing it on long and short car rides alike.

While most of the time my dad was content to sit back and watch the action unfold, he completely embraced my mother's love of life and social interaction.

He supported her as she built multiple businesses from the ground up, and manifested that support through house remodels to allow her to continue teaching preschool to setting up chairs and backdrops for weddings whenever he felt well enough.

He was a simple man, but wanted to do things to make my mom smile whenever he could.  He and my uncle secretly saved up for a few years and when my mom and her twin sister turned 40 they surprised them with a once in a lifetime cruise to the Caribbean.

My dad reminded my siblings and I almost daily how much he loved my mom and how beautiful she was.

His love for her was not hidden, and in turn he taught many people what true love and respect for the person you love should look like.

My mom herself showed unwavering love for my dad through the "easy" times, as well as the harder ones.

When my dad decided to change his major with only one class left, she agreed even when it meant another two or three years of school.

When my dad so selflessly gave one of his kidneys to his mother, my mom was there to nurse him back to health.  Little did she know this experience was only preparing her for her later medical duties.

As my dad was a high school coach and busy with some sport year round, my mom took on the long days and late nights without him and never complained for us all to hear.

Instead she would drag four little kids, toys and treats included, to the local games or we would listen on the radio when they traveled to another city.

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, it was unclear what was ahead on their journey.  But instead of letting hospitals, medication, and fatigue become their marriage, they loved each other in spite of it all.

And for four years my sweet mother took care of my dad with hardly a word of complaint.  She would make him special meals, rub his back and legs when the pain was so intense, and stay up for all hours of the night doing anything she could to make him comfortable.

When I think what love is I think of my parents.

No, they weren't always perfect and like anyone else had their moments of contention and frustration with one another.

But in the end they didn't let the trials of life come between what was most important, their eternal marriage and family.

I am beyond grateful that my family is eternal.

That although my dad is not here physically to celebrate another year of wedded bliss, my parents marriage and our family isn't over.

We are going to be together for eternity after this life is finished.  And in the end that is what matters.

Eventually this earthly life is going to feel like the blink of an eye and we will wonder what we were all so sad about back then.

I miss him and I know my dear mother misses him.

But the memory of their love for each other is always going to be with me and will always remind me to be more loving and kind to my husband.

I owe them so much.