Partners on the Other Side

I attended the wake tonight for my Tito Jorge Dosdos at Cosmo Nivel and at mass, the priest talked about Tito Jorge finally reuniting with Tita Minnie, who had gone ahead of him 3 years ago.

For some reason I felt a sudden pang.

It just hit me that if I died, I would not have anyone waiting for me on the other side because I don’t have a partner. That made me sad.

For probably one of the few times in my life, I began to wish I had someone. I thought about my parents sharing this bond that almost 50 years together has forged and despite all the irritating things they may find about each other, they both are a solid team.

For a few months now, mom has been massaging dad’s legs to help prevent them from cramping at night. But before she massages his legs, she washes his feet. I was touched to witness this nightly routine a few times.

They would be in their bathroom, with her washing his feet over the bidet! The bidet had not been used for years, decades even, as mom found it messy to use. However, she recently found this a convenient tool to wash his feet. Mom did not need to bend down too much and dad could lift his feet just enough to put them over the water “fountain” spewing from the bidet.

As mom ministered to him, they talked about anything and everything, sometimes giggling over a private joke. Then as mom finished drying dad’s feet, they would both stand up as best as two 70-something people could—with creaking knees and stiff joints. Once I even heard one of them bump his/her head against the bathroom’s glass sliding door and then hearing them laugh about it. I think it was mom who quipped "What a hard head. I think it made the wall crack."

I am happy to bear witness to partnerships like this—that of my parents and my brothers who are married. I am blessed with a family that oozes love for each other. Those of us who are not married—me and my brother Kerwin, my son Karwin, my nephews and niece, all feel that we are cocooned by this invisible ooze.

And yet, for probably one of the few times in my life, I prayed to God if I could have a partner, one who would wait for me on the other side or whom I would wait for on the other side when our time comes.


August 25, 2013