Lucky to have you

At health fair day at the mall, I grab a seat on a bench and check emails on my phone. I rarely go to the mall and just happened to pick today – health fair day. That explains why it was tough finding a parking place.

It wasn’t long before an older lady sat down next to me on the bench. Her health fair goodie bag was getting heavy and she needed a rest.

“Look at this,” she exclaimed, holding out a hospital tote bag filled with lots of brochures and give-away items. “I collected all of this already and I’m only halfway around!”

“How fun,” I replied. “Is the bag heavy?”

“A little,” she said, as she started to extract items one at a time and began to comment on her holdings. “Oh, good, I can sure use this pill container. And I think I now have enough pens to last me for the rest of my life,” she related as she held out several to show me.

“Those are nice ones,” I respond. “You can never have enough pens.”

“I know. My husband always said the same thing. He would have had so much fun walking around the booths today.”

“Past tense?” I ask.

“Yes. He passed away in 2002. I miss him so. But look what I’m wearing.”

On a delicate chain around her neck was a heart-shaped band of silver. “This was my husband’s wedding ring. For $75 the jeweler made it into a heart-shape. All of us girls have them. Some are gold. Others are silver. At our age, we’re all widows and loving this way to keep our husbands ever in our memory. I miss my husband so.”

“The necklace is beautiful,” I agree. “And he’s with you now. I think he’s really enjoying all the booths.”

“Well, thank you, honey. Your husband’s lucky to have you.”

(It’s the other way around.)

 [Sr. Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.]