A touching story of an elderly widower coping with life alone after his wife of 62 years died last January went viral on Facebook.
“So much of our lives were linked.”
The Facebook post from “Humans of New York” racked up more than 1.3 million likes and over a quarter of a million shares.
“My wife passed away last January. We’d been married for 62 years. You caught me at a time when I’ve been thinking a lot about love because I’m reading Shakespeare’s sonnets. The definition of love is elusive, which is why we write about it endlessly. Even Shakespeare couldn’t touch it. All the greatest love stories just seem to be about physical attraction. Romeo and Juliet didn’t know if they liked the same books or movies. It was just physical. After 62 years, it becomes something different entirely.
My wife used to say: ‘We are one.’ And believe me, she was not the type of person to overstate something. Now that she’s gone, I realize how right she was. So much of our lives were linked. We were very physical and affectionate. But we also shared every ritual of our life. I miss her every time I leave a movie and can’t ask for her opinion. Or every time I go to a restaurant and can’t give her a taste of my chicken. I miss her most at night. We got in bed together at the same time every night.”
~
The special little things he shared with his love are no more but maybe there’s A lesson here for all of us.
When you see your significant other tonight, please remember that these loving moments which sweeten our lives are oh so fragile and temporary.
Remember that the ones we care for should never be taken for granted.
Love them now, today, with everything you have.
♥
“Humans of New York” is a humanitarian and arts website that, through pictures and interviews, has become a strong political force and has helped to shine a spotlight on causes such as LGBT rights and the dire situation of Syrian refugees.
Kindness Blog 
A lovely story, especially from a man. I think older men are a lot better with expression of feelings than younger ones.
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This is really beautiful and heartfelt, touching on what is truly important in life. Thanks for sharing.
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What a lovely gentleman. This story is certainly an elbow in the ribs for all of us. Thanks for sharing.
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My mom died just before Christmas last year; she and Dad had been married 60 years. Dad is 91 and lives in the house they lived in since the early 60s. He is 91 and in good health, and he and his cat are doing well together. We talk every morning, and I drive up at least once a week to visit.
While he admits that he has a few down days, he always says that at times like that, he just remembers all the millions of memories he has of her, and that keeps him happy. Recently he told me that, had he died before she did, she would have mourned him of course, but she would have gone on living. She would have keep up her exercise classes, her book club, her coffee klatches at the local bookstore three times a week, gone on day trips with her friends, and so on. In short, she would LIVE.
“And that’s exactly what I am doing,” he told me. “I’m going to LIVE!” And so he does–with his memories wrapped around him, a smile on his face and love in his heart.
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Gods that is beautiful. 🙂
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I think sometimes that the saddest thing about my father’s life after my mother’s passing was that dementia robbed him of those memories. The man in this story is so very fortunate. Beautiful story.
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Having read this made me miss my husband more. He died last year only. He was my best buddy, my critic, my prayer partner, my one true love.
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O what a beautiful share.. ❤ thank you
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We forget to appreciate the time, like the Aerosmyth song, eh, Sing with me…maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away.” The gift is the marvel that it was, and that time can never be undone. The glass is half full, it is a wonder that we are here at all, and what if Augustine is right, and the Book of Life is the eternal moments woven of what was?
Nice point about R&J, how they didn’t know what books, etc, but it is wrong to say only physical. His first love, Rosalind, was too spiritual! Then they dance in the pattern of the hands of praying saints. We say it is two in the Imago Dei, the universal in the particular, as they say.
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warms my heart…love is so beautiful.
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