When you felt the most cherished...
I was recently asked by a dear friend the question, “When have you felt the most cherished by your spouse or significant other?” As I read the question once again, I had a flood of emotions come over me. I knew exactly when it was, I had felt the most cherished, I will share with you in a bit. Make sure you read to the bottom! Let us talk about the word cherished for a moment.
Cherish
Protect and care for someone lovingly.
Hold something dear.
Keep a hope or ambition in one’s mind.
When you think of things you cherish in your life you may come up with family, friends, nature, career, or music. I too cherish all those things. But why when we think of things we cherish we only, what I call “scratch the surface” of what we truly cherish. We may cherish a certain friendship we acquire, time with a loved one, a still moment by ourselves, or memories from our past. See to cherish something it means we value it and are emotionally connected to it.
It is easy for us to come up with things we cherish, but when the question is turned onto you, when have YOU FELT cherished it changes the outlook of cherished. We get lost in our daily lives pouring out to others and sometimes forget to pour into ourselves. There were many questions that came to me when the question was asked by my friend. The words you felt, are what began a stirring within.
I pondered where else in my life do, I need to add the words you felt. I needed to make sure I wasn’t just traveling this journey called life not feeling. Not feeling the experiences that were happening not only around me, but also the experiences I was fully involved in. Not absorbing the essence of each moment, I am present. Understanding how the beauty of the air and sunshine, along with the raindrops hitting the ground made me feel.
If I dig even deeper, it comes from honestly… feeling. We rarely add that to questions we ask. I believe we need to connect with how things make us feel and not just go through it. So as you travel today and going forward I challenge you to be aware of how “it” makes you feel. Whatever “it” is!
Now back to the question my friend asked, “When have you felt the most cherished by your spouse or significant other?” Here is my answer:
My husband was dying from Glioblastoma Brain Cancer, he had asked me from the beginning, “Jack please take care of me until the end, I only want you caring for me. Not a hospital or nurse.” I of course as the Warrior I am, I looked into his sea blue eyes and responded, “Sweets of course I will take care of you until the end I promise and I love your guts.”
He would always grab my hand and say “Thank you” every time I did anything for him. As he began to decline and had less motion, this is when I felt the most cherished.
I would stand next to his hospital bed we had placed in our living room, the place in our home where he could feel the laughter of our girls growing up, the place we shared many tears and deep conversations. As I stood there wiping his face, giving him bird size bites of food, running my hand over his head, kissing his cheeks or cleaning him up it was his hand that would caress my thigh the whole time and would in the softest whisper tell me “Thank You”.
When I felt the most cherished was then the simplest act of a weak hand on my thigh patting or caressing it and always followed by the sweetest, soft spoken, full of love, THANK YOU!
I want you all to take a few minutes today and answer this question…
When have you felt the most cherished?
Love and Blessings to all!
