Guest Author - Pam Garlick
Recently I’ve been encountering examples of love all around me. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to it since watching my mother go through her grief after my father’s passing. Whatever the case, I feel honored every time I catch a glimpse of what true love is all about.
I saw one example as a dear friend recently underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed in the early stages of breast cancer. Her husband supported her every step of the journey from diagnoses to recovery.
The two showed such love, the way he took on the role of nurse and housemaid, even though he was suffering himself, and the extra work was difficult for him. And in the way she would get up early in the morning and beat him to some small chore because she wanted to reduce his suffering.
Then there is another couple where the husband has Alzheimer’s Disease. The wife has had to take over all driving, shattering his independence. While he’s feeling a burden, she’s constantly building him up, telling others what a help he is to her, in her own way reassuring him that he could never be a burden to her.
I’ve heard varying comments about the way some women can be seen looking at their husbands. Some may joke and call it making puppy dog eyes. I find it sweet, depending on the circumstances. And sometimes that sweetness is artificial.
An example of this are those in the public eye, well trained in wearing the “proper” expression. I mean, come on, who is fooled by the woman smiling sweetly at a husband standing before cameras confessing to the world that he’s had an extramarital affair, with a man, no less. I’d say any woman wearing “puppy dog eyes” at her husband’s coming out party is filled with about as much artificial sweetness as all the pink, yellow and blue boxes of sweetener in the grocery isle combined.
Ah, but the genuine look of love is that which is discrete, shown when one thinks no one is watching. Yes, I’ve seen that look, too. It’s passed between several couples I know. The glance can be even more meaningful than any openly overt example could be.
Oh yes, I see plenty of examples of love around me. And I hope others see similar examples in Ken and me. It is one of the best gifts we can give to others.
Books on this topic can be purchased below:
