Love Story

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman,
in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated
that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with
another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam it was well healed,
so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his
sutures and redressed his wound.

While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I
asked him if he had an important appointment that morning, as he was in
such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the
nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for
a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease.

As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be
worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he
was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him. "And you still go every morning, even
though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said. "She doesn't know me, but I
still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left and thought, "That is the kind of
love I want in my life."

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance
of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the best of everything that comes their way.

Happiness doesn't depend on what you have but how contented you are.
It's not how others can make you happy but rather how you can make
others happy, even tho sometimes it's at the expense of your own
happiness.

Life is what we make it... always has been, always will be.


Author's Note : My dad had forwarded this mail to me. I find it touching in a sense, it is a very small gesture, but the impact it has is tremendous. After watching finish "Jewel in the Palace", I actually am feeling depressed. Not sure is it because I stayed up late every day to finish it, thus affecting my body. Or is it because school is starting and I start to feel stress again. Or because it is just me. The me who can never measure up to what I should be. If I have half of Dae Jang Geum's selfless, maybe I will not be so self critical of myself. I would have been more satisfied with my love life, my own life. I'm not sure... maybe I should go for tarot reading again...