Love Leaves A Memory

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

I ran across this epitaph this morning in some of my perusing of the internet. It really struck a chord with me and in an instant became the cornerstone of my writings today. I don't think I could have come up with a more true saying if I had to think for days. Whoever thought of this one is brilliant for it is the battle cry of just about every widow I know. Once we lost our spouse we were instantly reduced to those memories and though the world can try to beat me down and make me forget many things, the world can NEVER steal my memories of Bob and all that he means to me.
No one can take the memory of our first face to face meeting. No one can take the memory of the first date and the first kiss. No one can steal the memory of me bringing him home to me the parents. And no one can steal away the memory of the day we became engaged. The day we were married is no one's to steal. Our first home together is no one's to take either. Bob's first deployment as a married man and the feelings of loneliness and abandon that consumed me are MINE as is the proudest days of our life....the days our kids were born. No one can take the memories of anniversaries, vacations and moves. And no one can take the memories of the disagreements and reunitings after long deployments. They can't take away the memory of the pain and agony of the disease that ravaged my beloved's body and the many nights I spent up with him, rubbing his head, kissing his lips and holding his hand. They are all mine.
What the world can have is the memory of a man who so deeply touched and affected each and every person he met, a man who was not perfect but who knew that and lived each and every day to make it a better day than the day before. The world can have the memory of his smile, the memory of his honesty, the memory of his love.
The heartache is a natural byproduct of the love that we have shared and the memories that embellish our minds. The heartache is the mortal remnant of the immortal soul. The heartache will eventually fade but never end.
Memories offer us both a legacy of the richness of Bob's life and we are both better having known the man who offers us so many things and times to remember...ALWAYS.
~~ Rayne ~~