My parent’s love for each other was without question.
Every work day of every week of every year, provided my dad was in town, he would enter the house in the same way. He would open the door and no matter who was in his path he would call out for my mom. When finding her, he would give her a big hug and a kiss. I once asked him whether he had noticed my sister and me standing in his path. He simply said: “children are temporary.”
In the beginning of 2016 my parent’s health was failing. Mom was suffering from COPD and dementia. Dad had started to lose his battle with prostate cancer. They moved from their home, the center of my family’s life, in February to an assisted care facility. It was quite nice but they both knew it was the beginning of the last act. My mom was moved to the hospital in the beginning of July. Mom died July 15. Dad was heartbroken. Dad died November 9.
My parents were not religious. Mom just didn’t have space in her life for other people’s rules. Dad felt religion was anathema. But knowing their love and bond, it is hard to not believe that their love was the stuff that provides the foundation for faith for the rest of us.