......Well.........I continue to enjoy reading everyone's stories here because I can relate to so many of them, and I keep thinking that I should contribute something once in a while.. I feel that my journey through this was much easier than most and because of my older age I can't complain about being cheated out of my best years because I had already lived them. So this is the best I can offer. ...... Here I am....... Helen's been gone for two years and eight months and the memories of our 67 years together seem no more than a happy dream, and I've written so many stories about them, but now I'd like to tell a story about what I did yesterday.
..... All by myself.......Just me and the cat........No need to get dressed up, I've been wearing what they call pull up pants with elastic waste band. For three years I've been wearing two of them, and they were getting full of holes so I decided I would go down to the Target store all by myself and see what I could do about it......( I believe in pushing myself as much as possible to do what I can because if I don't do it, I'll soon loose the ability to do it). .....I walk with a cane and it's pretty slow. More like hobbling than walking, so it took me a while to hobble back to the men's clothing area and on the way, I passed the women's clothing and noticed a middle aged lady in an area where the mannequins were all displaying sexy lingerie and I said to her, "Wow....I'll bet you would really look good in one of those outfits"......She turned to me and scornfully said. "Are you trying to flirt with me?" I told her I was doing the best I could for a 93 year old man. She laughed and told me she was looking there not for herself but as a gift for a friend. .....In the men's clothing section I couldn't believe how many different kinds of pants were on display, and I don't think I could ever have found what I was looking for without the help of other shoppers, Especially a little high-school girl and her boyfriend who were looking to find something for him to were at the school dance. .....In front of me at the check-out stand was a mother and daughter with a big heavy box in their cart and they were trying to lift it onto the counter. I wanted to help them and told them so, but they took one look at me and said, "No thanks". I asked what was in the box and they said that it was pots and pans and that the daughter was just recently married and starting a home of her own. I told them that I had pots and pans galore that I had no use for and they were welcome to come by and pick them up. The daughter thanked me but said she wanted everything to be new. .....As I was hobbling across the parking lot to my car, a man came up alongside me and said something like, "I sure hope I can do as well as you when I get to be your age," and then asked me how old I was. We talked as he followed me to my car and I found out that he was twenty years younger than I and his wife had recently died of cancer and that he lived only two blocks from me. He saw that I didn't need any help and as he turned to walk away, I called him back and told him I had something more to say to him. I basically told him this.......... ....."I'm not going to tell you that you are a kind and caring person because you cannot help but already know that. I know that the reason you spoke to me was that you thought I might need some help. I also know that in spite of loosing your dear wife you are a happy guy," Then I gave him my favorite Emerson quote............ "Happiness is a perfume. You cannot pour it on others without getting some on yourself".
.....So that's what I did yesterday.... Through it all I was trying to do as my dear Helen always did...........Talk to people........ What did I do today?......Not very much but at least I wrote this story... . ..................Sorry it's so long.......Old GeorgieBoy
Have I told you lately that I love you? You are a wise, kind, caring, sweet man. Every time you write on this board, you inspire us, teach us something, make us feel happy, and enrich our lives. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
....I want to thank everyone for their kind comments, but please take it easy or you'll give me the big head again. As I've said before, I'm not a great writer or a great thinker, I'm only putting into words, things that have happened to me, none of which I have any control over. .....Yes, Wolf, I bought two pair and they should last me three years before I have to visit Target again. Pull-up pants are really great for me. I wear them with a T-shirt night and day......... It's so easy.