I do....

This came across my desk again this morning and it makes me tear up everytime I read it, so I thought I would share it with you all this morning. This poem was written by one of my top fundraisers in the Ft. Worth area. She wrote it for a contest to support MS. She read this at a forum in August 2001 in Washington DC, one month before the 9-11 attacks. This couple is truly an inspiration everytime I see them.

I Do

Some people have said, "In sickness and in health"

And simply replied, "I do."

With the thought that the worse case scenario

Was probably some strain of flu.

It's been twenty-three years since I said that phrase

And filed it in the back of my mind,

Until MS reared its ugly head,

A disease so thoughtless and unkind.

Avid walker, tennis player, cross-stitcher,

All enjoyable, but now not in my day.

Other enjoyable hobbies to be found,

But few choices, few abilities, give up? No way!

My mate now labeled my "caregiver,"

My "chauffeur," my "nurse," and my "cane,"

My "therapist," my shoulder to cry on,

Dealing with my depression, sometimes in vain.

So when deciding to take the vow

Think what the words really mean.

Are you willing to love in the bad times

With the good sometimes sandwiched between?