Henry helped me begin this story, reminding me of dates and moments I might have forgotten. And so, dear readers, I’m telling you everything now while I still can.
“Your husband is prepared to spend your life savings on this.”
Last week, I forgot our daughter’s name for just a moment.
I wrote it down in my journal immediately: “Iris. Our daughter. Brown hair. Kind eyes. Loves gardening.”
I still go to the garage sometimes and look at all the versions of myself on those walls.
The woman I was. The woman I am. The woman I might become.
And I think about the man who has loved me for 60 years. Who will keep loving me even when I can’t remember why.
I forgot our daughter’s name for just a moment.
Yesterday, I added something to my journal.
“If one day I look at Henry and don’t know who he is, someone please read this to me: This man is your heart. He has been your heart for 60 years and counting. Even if you don’t remember his name, your soul knows him. Trust the love you can’t recall but that has never left you.”
I showed it to Henry. He read it with tears streaming down his face. Then he held me like he was afraid I’d disappear.
And maybe someday, in a way, I will. But until then, we have this. We have today.
If memory leaves me, I hope love remains. Because even in the forgetting, my Henry was never forgotten.
“Even if you don’t remember his name, your soul knows him.”
Did this story remind you of something from your own life? Feel free to share it in the Facebook comments.
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