On the day of one’s wedding, the last thing the happy couple wants to think about is the death of their spouse. As Connie and I both found out, it happens. It is a tragic event in one’s life that has severe complications. The grief that follows is real. It is both emotional and physical. Life for the surviving spouse is difficult and at times meaningless. When this is compounded with meeting someone else who has just lost a spouse, as in our case, the emotions are very mixed. We were comforted, having someone to talk to that knew what the other was going through. But our friendship quickly developed into love.
Our story is only one of many thousands. Every day someone loses a loved one. It is our hope that our story will inspire anyone who loses a spouse that is possible to rebuild his or her life. We didn’t do it perfectly, but we did it. We both worked a lot on our individual grief, but we always had each other to fall back on.
Today, Connie is the person she always wanted to be. She is beautiful and confident, and no longer has the brick walls of abuse surrounding her. She is very popular in our community and continues to add new friends to her life. For me, I would not be where I am today without her help. Lingering in the backs of our minds, however, is the knowledge that one of us will die before the other, leaving one to go through the grieving process once again. But we have come to terms with that stark reality. We live our lives for each other and cherish every day. We have five beautiful grandchildren who will carry on our legacy in the cycle of life. We are grateful to God for all that he has given us. Finally, we are grateful to each other for what we have accomplished. I often reflect over the series of events that brought Connie and I together. I don’t exactly believe in fate, but I do believe that there is a higher power in God that sometimes allows such events to occur. I am so grateful that one of those events was finding the woman who taught me to laugh again.