She Ain't Heavy..No Way

   Way back in my memory there was this quotation:

  "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother"

   I thought it might have come from a publication or an appeal from Father Flanigan's Boy's Town in Nebraska, and there is a sculpture on their grounds that depicts this.

   But it s not to highlight this that I sat down to write. It is more personal than a sculpture.

   We all know there are seasons to life. We can look forward to them (as we imagine they will be), or we can dread.

   Our lives change, the people around us change, and, yes, we change too.

   If we are married, and if that marriage is good and lasting, we may be called on to change into the care-giving role.

   So after 57 years of marriage, this is my new normal.

   Cooking, shopping, dressing, opening jars and bottles, keeping calendars and other small things that I never worried about before.

   Does my wife like me in this role?

   Ha!

   She would much rather the situation be reversed. She would like to take care of me and is frustrated because she can no longer do as she used to.

   Do I need an extra portion of wisdom, patience and grace?

   Yes, for sure, and I pray for it each day.

   Do I bemoan my fate and look for a way out?

   No, she ain't heavy, she is the love of my life.