Please don’t go!
There’s a song resonating in my brain tonight. Actually there are three songs, but one remains so evident that it has driven me to awake from my slumber and begin to type away on my laptop.
“Babe, I love you so. I want you to know. At least in my lifetime, I’ve had one dream come true. I was blessed by someone like you….please don’t go! I want you to stay” – KC and the Sunshine Band.
Settle down, I’m not going to share a love story with you. At least not the type you may be thinking of. Like so many songs written, they have special meanings to people or maybe they are interpreted differently depending on the moment.
My moment…
I have a dear friend who I hold close to my heart who has been struggling with cancer for close to seven years now. He was afflicted with a tumor on his brain which began to hinder his driving and depth perception at first. After a number of surgeries and chemo treatments of all types he began to lose strength in his right arm and then his legs. His speech started to alter just a touch but recently the words just don’t seem to find their way to be expressed the way he would wish. He knows the word, he knows the context but something prevents it from being delivered. But he’s so patient. Never lets down his guard. He never shows signs of weakness. He smiles. He jokes around. “I’m ok!” he says with conviction. Where ever his strength and determination comes from is truly an amazing thing! If you think I’m positive, you ain’t seen nothing.
I have tried to “hang out” with him as often as possible. I took a trip one summer with my mother and three children up to Gladwin where he also had a carpet store. Silly guy it should have been a Carpet One store but, non- the- less. He’s forgiven! We’ve gone to a number of Detroit Tiger games, dinners, lunches, visits with him and his mom and an awesome Hardwood Trip to Quebec thanks to one of our Manufacturers. Last week, before my summer convention, we made plans to dine at an elegant and super delicious Italian restaurant for today’s date. When I called just as a reminder I found no one at home. Hmmm… I tried his cell phone and was greeted by a young girl’s voice. Hmmm….
I know where he is.
The hospital.
But as usual, “hey I’m doing ok. Could be worse, I’m sorry I forgot to call you about dinner.” Paul explained. He was having even more difficulty walking and needed to go the hospital. He attempted to explain the circumstances and he made requests for no visitors at this particular moment. He would let me know when it was a good time.
There are some people in our lives that you just wonder, ”why him?” Why does anyone have to suffer from these diseases?
Our time on this gracious planet is so short. We are given moments to cherish. We are blessed with people in our lives. He have moments handed to us that make our hearts skip a beat. We meet someone and in an exact moment and you know this person is so very special “I can’t let you go.” We become selfish. The minutes together aren’t appreciated until their gone and yet those minutes that we share are sometimes the very best that life can grant.
I have a friend who I love from the deepest part of my heart. I don’t believe I ever told him that. But, he knows!
“Please don’t go. Don’t go away! I want you to stay. Cause I need you so. Please don’t go!”
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
- my favorite quote.
I love you Paul.
I always will.
Keep climbing!
Cat
There’s a song resonating in my brain tonight. Actually there are three songs, but one remains so evident that it has driven me to awake from my slumber and begin to type away on my laptop.
“Babe, I love you so. I want you to know. At least in my lifetime, I’ve had one dream come true. I was blessed by someone like you….please don’t go! I want you to stay” – KC and the Sunshine Band.
Settle down, I’m not going to share a love story with you. At least not the type you may be thinking of. Like so many songs written, they have special meanings to people or maybe they are interpreted differently depending on the moment.
My moment…
I have a dear friend who I hold close to my heart who has been struggling with cancer for close to seven years now. He was afflicted with a tumor on his brain which began to hinder his driving and depth perception at first. After a number of surgeries and chemo treatments of all types he began to lose strength in his right arm and then his legs. His speech started to alter just a touch but recently the words just don’t seem to find their way to be expressed the way he would wish. He knows the word, he knows the context but something prevents it from being delivered. But he’s so patient. Never lets down his guard. He never shows signs of weakness. He smiles. He jokes around. “I’m ok!” he says with conviction. Where ever his strength and determination comes from is truly an amazing thing! If you think I’m positive, you ain’t seen nothing.
I have tried to “hang out” with him as often as possible. I took a trip one summer with my mother and three children up to Gladwin where he also had a carpet store. Silly guy it should have been a Carpet One store but, non- the- less. He’s forgiven! We’ve gone to a number of Detroit Tiger games, dinners, lunches, visits with him and his mom and an awesome Hardwood Trip to Quebec thanks to one of our Manufacturers. Last week, before my summer convention, we made plans to dine at an elegant and super delicious Italian restaurant for today’s date. When I called just as a reminder I found no one at home. Hmmm… I tried his cell phone and was greeted by a young girl’s voice. Hmmm….
I know where he is.
The hospital.
But as usual, “hey I’m doing ok. Could be worse, I’m sorry I forgot to call you about dinner.” Paul explained. He was having even more difficulty walking and needed to go the hospital. He attempted to explain the circumstances and he made requests for no visitors at this particular moment. He would let me know when it was a good time.
There are some people in our lives that you just wonder, ”why him?” Why does anyone have to suffer from these diseases?
Our time on this gracious planet is so short. We are given moments to cherish. We are blessed with people in our lives. He have moments handed to us that make our hearts skip a beat. We meet someone and in an exact moment and you know this person is so very special “I can’t let you go.” We become selfish. The minutes together aren’t appreciated until their gone and yet those minutes that we share are sometimes the very best that life can grant.
I have a friend who I love from the deepest part of my heart. I don’t believe I ever told him that. But, he knows!
“Please don’t go. Don’t go away! I want you to stay. Cause I need you so. Please don’t go!”
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
- my favorite quote.
I love you Paul.
I always will.
Keep climbing!
Cat
