Tuesdays with Josephine

That was our day, Tuesday.  For the last few years I spent some time with my oldest patient who would have been 100 years old in September.  99 years, 5 months and a day, an incredible life. Josephine went home to be with the Lord early this morning.  I have mixed emotions, selfishly wanting our Tuesdays to continue but happy knowing that she is at peace after a long battle with congestive heart failure, on hospice for the last year.  I didn’t have to hop on a plane every Tuesday like Mitch Albom did to visit Morrie, she was just a couple miles away. I enjoyed our conversations, talking about her dinner menu or her egg for lunch that day.  She couldn’t bowl any more, that ended when she was 95.  The days of cooking dinners, shopping with her daughter and babysitting were gone too.  She wanted to hear about my kid’s games or what was happening at the office.  She loved to tell me about her husband, the chiropractor, her grandson the musician or her granddaughter the teacher.  Last Tuesday she was looking forward to seeing the snow.  She enjoyed the simple things of life: a smile, a flower, a good meal and her family.  Our lives get complicated and hectic, we forget the simple things.  If we could only be more like Josephine, enjoying relationships, laughter, and a good night sleep, which for her was few and far between.  She displayed contentment, optimism, faith, hope and love.  She had faith in her Savior, loved her family and friends, and was hopeful of her future eternity.  Josephine was a beautiful woman who had a wonderful life.  I will miss our times together and look forward to seeing her again in heaven.  Tuesdays will definitely not be the same.