Wishing You Love

The gentle presence of the man across the way from us made us somehow more comfortable. It was our second round of chemotherapy. He was quite a handsome, elderly African American who had been receiving treatments at the center for eight months. He drives himself to and from the treatments and lives, he told us, about two miles away from the Center.....so "no big deal" he remarked. We learned he had "caddied" for a Macon Candy Company executive in earlier years. (He is now being given a new form of treatment and will receive blood transfusions in the next week or so....and spoke of the fatigue he has experienced after the treatments.) Still his spirit is very visible and life very precious to him...as evidenced by his determination in seeing this "through."

True, it appeared, for all those receiving treatments in adjoining chairs. A female patient of about sixty years of age was receiving her final chemo. The staff joined in a celebration of bubbles blown about her chair and an electronic leopard who performed to the music of "wildthing."We thought it appropriate as we all would be "wildly" happy to be concluding the treatments.

The Center was filled with people, young and old...black and white. Somehow we were all now "family" thrust into a new, uncertain world and an ongoing dreamlike state of consciousness. We still wish to be awakened. The WORLD with all its' complications seems all the simpler now.Nothing seems vitally so important on this level...as we had thought. Aren't we learning this in a "reverse order?" It would be our wish that we could be much wiser, much sooner.

Our thoughtful nurse...now like family to us...also attended our new friend. She offered him candy from a jar of assorted choices kept available for patients...ironically he chose a Mary Jane and a Tootsie Roll. Our Knight, earlier in one of his careers, had been the manager of the Mary Jane Candy Company, so we remembered together some of those busy years. Strange, or perhaps not, how things simply "come together." They say...whoever "they" are...that there are NO COINCIDENCES. It seems to be more and more true.

The Knight and I held hands during the seemingly long period in which we waited for blood level reports to come.The levels must be correct to be given more chemotherapy. Sitting beside each other in the large lounge chairs in a still unfamiliar surround we asked each other how we had gotten HERE. We are learning....things that we never invisioned needing or wanting to know during our lifetimes. "It was," remarked the Knight, "always someone else." We spoke, during our wait, of life....our lives...and how this was never a part of the plan.

We thanked God for each other. Some people do it alone. We are so richly blessed by our children, our friends...even total strangers who somehow pour out their hearts as the story unfolds.

And so...as Valentine's Day approaches...All you precious and dear ones who support this Knight along his journey...WE WISH YOU PEACE, JOY...and MOST OF ALL WE WISH YOU LOVE.