Tuesday date nights

By Marie Ackman

Tuesdays have always been special for me and my husband Rob because we met on a Tuesday 40 years ago. Since then, Rob has made Tuesday nights our date nights. Every week he goes out of his way to plan something romantic for the two of us to do. He also buys a single rose, which he gives to me at the beginning of every date.

Rob was recently involved in a serious car accident and has been in the hospital ever since. Although he’s recovering quite rapidly, the doctors believe it will be some time before he will be able to come back home. I was surprised to see that while I was worried about how he will recover, Rob was more concerned about missing our weekly dates.

To show my husband how special he is to me and how thankful I am to have him, I decided to take a stab at planning one of our dates. I packed a few of Rob’s favourite dishes, bought a single rose and went to the hospital. Seeing the smile on Rob’s face as I walked in the door reminded me of the smile that made me fall in love with him 40 years ago.

 

An unexpected wake-up call

By Jeremy Fitzgerald

I didn’t realize the true value of family until my wife was diagnosed with cancer last November. Although I love my wife dearly, both of our hectic work schedules meant the amount of quality time we spent together had become less and less over time. Our dreams of retirement also seemed to be pushed back each year. And when our son Jeffery moved back home a year ago, that dream began to fade completely.

My wake-up call came on a busy Monday morning when my wife called and said that we needed to go to see her doctor. I knew right then that our lives were about to change dramatically. Growing up in a family with an extremely strict work ethic, I had always fooled myself into believing that everything would be ok so long as we worked hard and had enough savings, and I enforced that belief with my own family as well. I never realized the toll that this had taken on my family and unfortunately it took my wife’s cancer to bring me to that realization.

With me coming home earlier these days and regularly taking time off, my family has had a chance to reconnect. My wife seems happier than she has in years and her doctor is hopeful that she will make a full recovery. 

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Tags: cancer, family, happiness for the soul, providing care, relationships, senior residents, senior stories