What Would You Miss?

I read a letter in an advice column once (Dear Abby or Ann Landers) from a lady who  complained that her husband snored so loud she could not sleep.  Another lady wrote to say that her husband snored also, keeping her awake.  However, he suddenly died and now she would give anything to hear him snore.  I heard Dr. Gerald Mann talking about his wife Lois, who recently passed away, and he said he missed her laughter.

That started me to think about what I would miss about my wife if she were suddenly no longer in my life.  Have you ever thought about what you would miss if your loved one were no longer in your life?

We often get so involved in ‘living’ that we take some things (and people) for granted.  A spouse is easy to take for granted because they are there everyday.  As the old song says, ‘I have grown accustomed to your face’.  We get so accustomed to someone being 'in' our life that we forget what they 'bring' to our life.

So – what would you miss about your your loved one?  Get out a sheet of paper and make a list of the those little things you appreciate but never say anything about.

Here is my partial list:

- About 2 or 3 times a day my wife says ‘Have I told you lately that I love you?’, and I always respond – ‘No’.

- the notes she leaves in my coffee cup each Saturday and Sunday morning.

- her laugh.

- watching TV with her, entwined on the sofa.

- looking at the back of her head as she spends hours on the PC doing genealogy research.

- her corny jokes.

- snuggling with her and keeping her warm.

- her gourmet meals.

- the encouragement and support she gives me.

- sitting quietly with her, not having to say anything.

Now that you have made your list comes the hard part.  Tell them!  If you can't bring yourself to say the words, just lay your list on their pillow.

- Joe Freeman