Take this waltz: It’s yours now. It’s all that there is. The vast majority of survivors of a dearly departed spouse are afflicted by certain regrets. One regret that gnaws at my soul as I lie sleepless at night is that I never took Anne dancing. Why? I was the world’s worst, most embarrassing..
Anne chooses a song for her celebration of life AND IT’S WINTER/ ET C’EST L’HIVER F. Hamelin – Marie-Claire Séguin A beautiful, poetic song for an interminable winter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhKIlLhWHxg When Anne and I were first together in 1979-1980, she loved this hauntingly beautiful poetic song, which she would sing continuously..
Anne’s Song A Free Verse Poem You have always kept your songs close, Quiet as sunrise tucked behind evening curtains, Shy – embarrassed, you say – Afraid the melody might stumble, That your voice might stray from the path, That the world would hear you sing And think the tune misplaced. But I have listened,..
She’s a clean machine As a devoted caregiver for my wife Anne, I find myself constantly hovering, attentive to her every need – sometimes to an excessive degree. Her battle with terminal brain cancer has left her quite wobbly on her feet, requiring me to be vigilant at all times. Whether it’s guiding her through..
Lights out in 1979 “This level of exhaustion deserves its own genre of music.” Looking back on my 46-year relationship with my wife Anne, I can’t help but express certain profound regrets and proffer belated apologies. I’m so sorry that my nocturnal proclivities cost Anne so much sleep back in 1979… a situation..
Anne’s Celebration of Life The nature of Anne’s cancer and the stage that it has reached is such that she could pass away at any moment. Anne has fourth-stage brain cancer, glioblastoma, and we have entered the palliative phase. Yet in the last three or four weeks, since we have waived the white flag and..
Checking Out? Leaving? A Tale of Hospital Discharge and the Hotel California “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”—at least, that’s how it feels on discharge day at the hospital. Getting Anne released proved to require a labyrinthine dance worthy of the Eagles’ greatest hit. Various staff..
Relapses and Awakenings: Anne returns to the hospital unable to walk, talk, or eat Yesterday morning, Anne was unable to get out of bed. She could not walk, talk, or eat. She was also radically incontinent. After about 30 minutes of my lugging and cajoling, we finally reached the bathroom of our tiny..
Mellow Yellow Anne: Brain Cancer and Strangely Chilling Out My wife Anne is currently undergoing three weeks of intensive radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The treatments are leaving her extremely nauseous and totally exhausted. But for lengthy periods, she is preternaturally mellow, chilled out, totally detached from the trials and tribulations of everyday..
A Hotline To Treatment: Getting Through and Feeling Blue In the summer of 1964, when I was 12 years old, our family move to London, Ontario, coinciding in my case with the sudden onslaught of puberty, a ferocious hormonal maelstrom that transformed me into an obsessive pop music listener. My favourite DJ in those days..