In Sickness

(This picture is not of the actual couple mentioned in my blog. Its just for good looks)

This weekend I was hunting with my dad, sister, some of my dad’s friends and some of my friends.  We hunt in Winona, MN, on my dad’s best friend’s property. Steve was the best man in both of my dad’s weddings and has been like an uncle to our family. His sons are some of my close friends and I wouldn’t trade deer hunting weekend for the world!

This weekend was wonderful in many ways, but one thing made the weekend quite strange, Steve was sick. He had a high fever and slept all day Saturday and most of Sunday.  The rest of us were fairly successful, managing to bag 9 deer without our main guide (Steve). But while we were out chasing deer, something simple and completely romantic was happening inside. Steve’s wife, Margret was taking care of her sick husband.  She made sure he had enough blankets to sleep under and made him food whenever he was feeling ready to eat.  She cared for her husband out of love, and as obscure as it may be, it’s romantic.

                She put her husband’s health before her own wellbeing. Logically, surrounding yourself with sick people will often cause you to be sick as well. Because romance is still alive in their relationship, Margret ignores the logic, and risks her health.  She is able to care for her husband because her intuition tells her that she cannot leave him alone. Granted he is not a child and could probably survive the sickness without the care, Margret will not allow it. Something makes her DESIRE to help him strong enough to care for him in sickness.

Let’s all be honest with ourselves for a moment, the PASSIONATE, INTENSE, TOUCHY-FEELY, MOVIE-Y, love isn’t going to last forever. Sooner or later that raw excitement and desire will fade and the two people that are in love are left with trust and security.  After 25 years of marriage, 3 kids and endless hours spent together, trust is the base of love. It is what keeps two people yearning to be with one-another. 

The simple act of caring for a sick spouse shows how deep love can be.  It demonstrates that romance and “the romantic” do not die with age, but instead change motives.  The goal switches- late nights and steamy nights turn into working side by side and discussing big decisions. What Margret did for Steve this weekend wasn’t anything HUGE, but rather something small.   And with that small act, Margret proved that “the romantic” doesn’t disappear, but rather changes forms. It no longer coincides with love songs or movie love, but rather argues that habits and things that may seem second nature to most, are actually the things that show the most love.