Dear friends and new TPers
Philip, my husband, died last Wednesday. He had lived in a nursing home for 2 years and 8 months, going through stage after stage of dementia. I have been in a state of widowhood for about 2 years, since he stopped recognising me and other members of the family. I have felt all the basic emotions: deep sadness, anger, frustration, guilt, stress and anxiety, and now relief and gratitude. He has been allowed to escape to the other side, has been spared the final battle, is in peace.
Although I haven't been on TP for some considerable time, I still value enormously the friendships I made here. It was a place where I learned to express some feelings rather than bottling them up, a place where those feelings were understood, commented on honestly and empathetically, and I know that it was the foundation which allowed me to grow and get me to the point where I can now deal relatively calmly with the events and the closure of the circle. I had never experienced, or allowed myself to experience, this kind of friendship. I learned to take, as well as give, and to me this was enlightenment, strength and comfort. It helped me make the most difficult decisions in my life and I felt supported in them without a single judgement.
Thank you all so much.
Lots of love and warm hugs - Kathy
Philip, my husband, died last Wednesday. He had lived in a nursing home for 2 years and 8 months, going through stage after stage of dementia. I have been in a state of widowhood for about 2 years, since he stopped recognising me and other members of the family. I have felt all the basic emotions: deep sadness, anger, frustration, guilt, stress and anxiety, and now relief and gratitude. He has been allowed to escape to the other side, has been spared the final battle, is in peace.
Although I haven't been on TP for some considerable time, I still value enormously the friendships I made here. It was a place where I learned to express some feelings rather than bottling them up, a place where those feelings were understood, commented on honestly and empathetically, and I know that it was the foundation which allowed me to grow and get me to the point where I can now deal relatively calmly with the events and the closure of the circle. I had never experienced, or allowed myself to experience, this kind of friendship. I learned to take, as well as give, and to me this was enlightenment, strength and comfort. It helped me make the most difficult decisions in my life and I felt supported in them without a single judgement.
Thank you all so much.
Lots of love and warm hugs - Kathy