My parents were married for 55 years. One morning, my mom was going downstairs to make dad breakfast, she had a heart attack and fell. My father picked her up as best he could and almost dragged her into the truck. At full speed, without respecting traffic lights, he drove her to the hospital.
When he arrived, unfortunately she was no longer with us.
During the funeral, my father did not speak; his gaze was lost. He hardly cried.
That night, his children joined him. In an atmosphere of pain and nostalgia, we remembered beautiful anecdotes and he asked my brother, a theologian, to tell him where Mom would be at that moment. My brother began to talk about life after death and guesses as to how and where she would be.
My father listened carefully. Suddenly he asked us to take him to the cemetery.
"Dad!" we replied, "it's 11 at night, we can't go to the cemetery right now!"
He raised his voice, and with a glazed look he said: "Don't argue with me, please don't argue with the man who just lost his wife of 55 years."
There was a moment of respectful silence, we didn't argue anymore. We went to the cemetery. With a flashlight we reached her grave.
My father sat down, prayed, and told his children: "It was 55 years... you know? No one can really talk about true love if haven't done life with a person."
He paused and wiped his face.
"She and I, we were together in the good and in the bad." he continued. "When I changed jobs, we packed up when we sold the house and moved. We shared the joy of seeing our children become parents, together we mourned the departure of loved ones, we prayed together in the waiting room of some hospitals, we supported each other in pain, we hugged one another each day, and we forgave mistakes."
And then he paused and added, "Children, that's all gone and I'm happy tonight. Do you know why I'm happy? Because she left before me. She didn't have to go through the agony and pain of burying me, of being left alone after my departure. I will be the one to go through that, and I thank God for that. I love her so much that I wouldn't have liked her to suffer..."
When my father finished speaking, my brothers and I had tears streaming down our faces. We hugged him and he comforted us, "It's okay. We can go home. It's been a good day."
That night I understood what true love is. It is more than just romanticism and sex, it's two people who stand beside one another, who are committed to one another ... through all the good and bad that life throws at you.
Peace in your hearts.
🖊 Author Unknown
PM @JustinTrudeau called out India, in one of his strongest statements on the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar since sharing the revelation of India's involvement in the murder, for failing to cooperate, undermining rule of law, & breaking international norms on diplomats.
Dale Schroeder was a simple, humble man from Iowa, who ended up changing the lives of 33 people forever. Schroeder worked as a carpenter at the same company for 67 years. He grew up poor and had no wife or children of his own.
His friend Steve Nielsen described Schroeder as a "blue collar, lunch pail kind of guy."
"Went to work every day. Worked really hard. Was frugal. Like a lot of Iowans," Nielsen told CBS Des Moines affiliate KCCI-TV.
When he died in 2005, no one could have guessed how rich Schroeder really was. "He had church jeans and work jeans," Nielsen said.
Schroeder had saved up a fortune over the years. He had no living descendants, so before he died, he went to his lawyer with a plan for his money.
"He said, 'I never got the opportunity to go to college. So, I'd like to help kids go to college,'" Nielsen said. Not only did Schroeder have enough money to send a few kids to college, he had enough saved to send dozens.
Dale sent 33 kids to college.
I am very concerned about reports that Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Niijar was assassinated, and I have requested an official briefing as a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee.
We must fully investigate this crime to determine who should be held accountable.
@SukhpalKhaira@BhagwantMann Sukhjit Singh Ji please help this family, as NRI we have sympathy with this family. Please help ASAP so the owner can stay in her house.