A Tender Moment This Morning

I looked at the clock. It was 5:45. As I rolled over to get up, I heard a soft chuckle. Kate often does this when she recognizes that I’m awake. I think it’s her way of saying, “Hello, I’m awake too, but I’m not ready for conversation.” I reached over and touched her arm. She pulled my arm around her. It was a loving response. She didn’t appear to be afraid. She just wanted to be held. Neither of us said a word. I held her until 6:15 when I got up.

As I was finishing up in the bathroom, she came in. When she was ready to go back to bed, she said, “What do I do now?” I told her it was still early and that she should go back to bed. She said, “Where is it?” I walked her to the bed. She sat down and said, “Thank you.” I said, “I love you.” She smiled and said, “I love you too.” Then, as so often happens, she said, “What’s your name?” This is just another example of the loss of her rational abilities while retaining those that are intuitive. In this case, her feelings for me. Tender moments like this continue to sustain me as her life and mine keep changing in ways I wish I could stop.