Life Together

When I got married, 42 years ago, Carol and I wrote our own vows.  It is strange now that I think about it, but if you are to rewrite the traditional vows; ‘I do take this woman to be my lawful wife; in sickness, in health etc. you can’t escape the clause “til death us do part.” Yet, I really hate the idea of death.  So, I changed that to “No matter what the uncertain future may bring.”  Not mentioning the inevitable, death, but making it clear I had no intention of going anywhere. It sounded good at the time.

We certainly have weathered “in sickness.” The first thing we had to do after our Honeymoon was get Carol checked into the ER at our local hospital.  I also have had health issues, still do, and throughout it all, we have been devoted to one another, although there have been times I have tried her patience.

I’m deaf. If it were not for hearing devices, I would be totally deaf. And if there is one thing which upsets Carol is when I don’t understand what she is saying.

There is no doubt that there are disadvantages to not being able to hear. The five senses; hearing, seeing, touching , smelling, and tasting, are all wonderful gifts, but take any one of them away, and life is not so good.  My father was color blind. It is an inherited disease. If it were not for my mother checking what he was wearing, it would be a disaster in the wardrobe department. Or consider the inability to taste. Or smell, both are related.

This is a political blog, so I must make an analogy to Republicans. They cannot see the destruction they are causing to the environment, they cannot smell the pollution which is choking the earth, they cannot feel the pain they inflict upon others, they have lost their senses.