That Kind of Love

Yesterday morning I was in Starbucks waiting for my cup of espresso

when I saw an elderly gentleman carrying a muffin and cup of coffee

over to a table where his lady was waiting. I watched them as

they sat there sharing a simple Sunday breakfast and it reminded me of the ending of a book I just finished. 

"I once traveled by car with elderly friends going to a family event. The wife was suffering from Alzheimer's and every twenty seconds she would ask somewhat fearfully, "Where are we going?" Her husband would always respond gently and cheerfully, as if for the first time. 

 Years later, I heard from my grandparents about this couple and how the husband gallantly continued to care for his wife during her mental degeneration. By the time she died, she no longer recognized her husband of fifty years. But she did tell him, offhand, something very beautiful: "You know, I don't know who you are, but you're the best," she said. 

Most of us, I think, are looking for that kind of love. It's the love that brings out the best in us and in others; it's the ennobling love that persists even when the brain cells are long gone. 

(Excerpt from: Girls Gone Mild by Wendy Shalit)