A Hospital Bedside Lesson On Love

As I was sitting at My Father’s hospital bedside the other day he said, “We were talking earlier about how to find a good man…”
Um, no we weren’t. But what he said to me next was strangely on point. He said,​

“I really can’t advise you on this. But it comes down to how he talks to you. How he respects you. That’s common sense.”
And then he began recounting how he met and courted (COURTED) My Mother and how capital “F” Fine she was. I’ve heard this story a kajillion times, but I listened because it’s one of my favorites.
And this time he added that he first caught My Mother’s eye (she’d clearly had already caught his) “with a respectful tip of the hat.”
This makes me smile because I can just picture him doing it. My Dad is a handsome guy and he wears a hat well. And I can also see My Mom giving him a little smile and nod back; and just a tiny bit of side eye as if to say, “Who ‘dis, Negro?” (That was the word then.)
And I am reminded that between life and death is love.
And I’m trying so very hard to hold onto that.
#love