I’m waiting for the dust to settle and for my life to return
to “normal” although I’m not sure that will ever really happen.
More than a month ago, my husband Greg had a stroke that
caused a fall down a flight of stairs and a subsequent ambulance ride to the
hospital where he remained for almost four weeks. His condition was very complicated and while
the stroke was the immediate problem, there were other health issues that made
his treatment exceptionally difficult and, well, complicated. While it was a truly awful time for Greg, it
was also a harrowing time for me, our kids and our family and friends. When he was finally moved to a rehab
hospital, we thought that he was beginning to heal, but on November 1, he
succumbed to another stroke and passed away.
We scheduled our memorials for this past weekend with
calling hours on Saturday and a memorial service at our church on Sunday
afternoon. I was astounded by the number
of people who came to offer their condolences and to share their memories of
Greg. People came from all areas of his
life, including family from near and far, high school friends, his friends and
fellow workers from New England Electric Service and National Grid, our
steadfast church friends, our Walker Pond neighbors and other local friends, his
much loved biker pals, and even a server at an area restaurant who saw the
obituary in the newspaper and wanted to let us know that she remembered that Greg
had always greeted her by name and made her feel like a friend.
But that’s just the way he was. He was not a perfect man by any means and
there were times over our 35 plus years together when he drove me absolutely
nuts. But, in many ways, he was larger
than life. People mentioned over and
over that they will remember how he loved to laugh. So many mentioned that when they first met
him, they felt they were immediately in the company of a friend. He was always the life of the party, always
one of the smartest guys in the room and always careful about caring for his
family and friends and was never shy about letting them know how much they
meant to him. He was a hugger. And he loved to sing, serving as primary
tenor in the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church choir for more than
twenty years. He will be hugely missed
by so many, not just me, Carrie, Evan and Olive, the pug.
In personality, Greg was the opposite of me as I tend to be socially awkward, introverted and shy. Maybe that’s why we
got along so well all these years. We
did complement each other in many ways.
But right now, I am keenly aware that the support and love I am feeling
from friends and family are really a gift from Greg who never hesitated to make
a friend or to celebrate with family.
I am going to try to move forward, to start picking up my
camera again and to dip my toes back into the blogging world. Bear with me as I try to find my way.
