220102 Sentinel, Love and Loss

It has been 110 days since Joyce passed away.

That translates to 9,504,000 seconds
158,400 minutes
2,604 hours
15 weeks and 5 days
30% of a year

I’m feeling every second of that time this morning. As I write this I am also looking at two pages of writing I have kept on my bulletin board since I received them from a very kind woman I once worked with at Litton. Ordinarily I only send out pages I have written; but today I will make a change for the first time in memory and share those written words with you.

Grief never ends…But it changes. It is a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith… It is the price of love.

This next one is even more moving.
I can feel you in my heart
You have settled in my soul
We may be far apart
But love has taken a hold
Your arms are still around me
Our lips joined as one
I look around to see
That you have really gone
I shall treasure the moment
When you declared your love for me
The days before you went
Were the best they could ever be

Those poetic words above are far better than any I have ever written and possibly ever will. I’ll be in better shape by tomorrow, but today it will be what it is. I will never stop remembering Joyce and remembering our lives together. I was blessed to have a wonderful woman to love.