Unforgettable

Some unusual thoughts today about a few possible futures I've mulled over after bumping into a friend who lost her husband to Alzheimer's. That's rare, but we've also had our own serious car accident. And a variety of other events in our wider circle of contacts reminds me that life just doesn't come with a guaranty. So it's become my philosophy never to neglect saying the important things both early and often to the people I love. I never want there to be any doubt about how I feel ... or felt. So to that end, I offer the following reminder to my bride of how much she is loved and how blessed our life has been. I hope we never need these words, but if we ever do at least they have been said.

Unforgettable 

Whatever the future holds for us 

Whatever may come our way

I reaffirm the love and commitment

That we share every day 

Everything seems so perfect

So many ways we're blessed

So this poem is a touch stone

In this season when things are best

Because we know that circumstances

Could always turn on a dime 

At anytime in this last third

Of our precious years and time

If our financial situation

Or my heart or memory

Should suddenly take a left turn

I want you to hear from me

That I've loved you with all my heart

From that first June day we met

That we've built a love and life

I would never want to forget 

If we swerved off the road again

Or end up in the ICU

If cancer or Alzheimer's mar our path 

I'll still be filled with love for you

Whatever the decades bring us

All that hasn't quite happened yet 

Lies beyond our vision or control

So I ask you to never forget 

All the beauty, wonder and laughter

Kids, friends, vacations and fun

This life of faith and blessing

Every good memory, ever one

If somewhere in the future 

I'm  somehow less me than before 

Remember our love right here and now

Know you're the one I always adore 

Know that I believe in forever 

In case I should forget someday

I have cherished our life together

And nothing could take that away

By Frank Carpenter

And one final thought. On the same subject, here is the chorus of a song I hope never to have to finish writing:

I hope you will remember

In case I should forget 

What happened that September

I never could regret 

All the years we shared together 

They mean everything you see

So in case I can't remember ...

Don't give up on me