Saturday, October 13, 2012

"I am alone... but I can still skate." - Michael's Story.

     Today was a very special day in our house.  Today we relearned something that is easily forgotten... how GOOD people can be, and when that goodness touches you, it makes the lesson that much sweeter than the last lesson was.  I feel compelled to tell this story simply because it needs telling; you can't make this stuff up folks.  First, some background details for you, then it's off to what was so good about this day.

     Long before I ever came into Michael's world, he was at a Barnes & Noble in Milwaukee, WI shopping with his best friend Garrett.  It was a cold November day and he happened to find some of the previous year's Christmas card sets on the discount table.  On the front of the cards was a replica of a painting of Minister Walker Skating. The original oil-on-canvas painting was created in the 1790's and is now one of Scotland's most important works of art.  But Michael's appreciation of the art was more than academic.  He had broken up with his partner not long before this and was still reeling from the end of the relationship.

Before I continue the story, I want to say something...it's amazing when you get a new insight into someone you love so much. You know how important someone is to you, and what you mean to them... but when something new is presented, an extra dimension is layered... you find that you are even more in love with that person by the new discovery.

Michael and I are incredibly close obviously -  we're married for Pete's sake, so that's not to hard to figure out.  But today I saw a look in his beautiful green eyes, reflected by barely constrained tears; a look that  made me fall in love all over again.  He has such a kind heart.  I forget how often, and how much his heart had been hurt in the past.  But the amazing character of Michael, I find, is the tenacity of his spirit and how happy the simple things make him. Finding discounted Christmas cards with this painting on them meant a great deal to him, he told me on the way home.  He bought all of those cards the store had.  He told me he felt the Reverend could have been him in a previous life.  He called his friend Garrett over to the table(he was getting on the escalator) to show him these cards.  He fell in love with the Reverend Walker in that moment... that lone figure, out on Duddingston Loch, skating with his eyes forward and thoughts all his own.  Michael told me that he told Garrett this:  "I am alone... but I can still skate."

That statement struck a chord in me as we drove back to Evansville from Princeton this morning.  We went to The Palace this morning for more than just breakfast.  The main reason was because waiting for him at the restaurant was The Reverend Walker Skating on the Lake.  Our friend Marsha Blanton is a waitress there.  She saw his Facebook post about the painting and how much he loved it's simple elegance; but like me, not knowing the whole story about his admiration of Henry Raeburn's work of art.  She had messaged me privately about the painting and wanted to know if he really liked it.. I told her that he adored the painting so much.  She surprised me when she told me she had ordered it and it would be here this week.  I was so pleased that this wonderful person loved my Michael enough to get for him this replica.  She wanted to surprise him.  I told her that he would be absolutely floored... so much so I didn't think he'd be able to eat his breakfast!  Suffice it to say, he was blown away completely by Marsha's kind-hearted generosity.

My Michael is a beer drinkin', cheese eatin', throw your head back and laugh and bullshit and have a few drinks Wisconsin boy.  He's tall, dark, and handsome.  He is also the most tender and beautiful man I have ever met.  Today in his eyes, as he opened up the box and unrolled the print of The Reverend, I saw a mixture of shock(because he obviously didn't expect this at all), sadness("Why are you showing me this?"), and when he realized it wasn't a prank(she had told him not a minute before that she had bought it for her house and wanted his decorator sense to see what color her walls needed to be), total gratitude and joy over this wondrous gift.  Nothing makes you love your husband more than seeing him cry tears of joy like this. Nothing.


He shared with me the story of the importance of the Reverend Walker's painting to me as we went home.  I was so moved by the story of his being able to skate through the pain of losing love as he was learning to walk alone again.  How many of us have had to learn how to do that in our lives... how to put on our Sunday best and ice skates and get back out on the ice, even when we aren't sure we want to, and even if we don't know if the ice will still support us.  I realized today that my husband is more than just my loving partner... he is a champion, and a survivor, but most of all, he's a teacher.  He has told me on more than one occasion that he feels that he is used as an instrument by The Man Upstairs... after hearing his story about The Reverend Walker, and seeing Marsha's love in action, I can only wonder at the beautiful symmetry of it all.

Marsha, if you ever read this... know that Michael loves your gift, but more than that, he loves you.  He is such a great guy, willing to do anything for anybody... but when people(like yourself) reciprocate, he doesn't understand it's because of him that they do just that... reciprocate.  He's like that... and I hope he never changes.  His selflessness and kindness needs to be acknowledged, and I am so glad you gave me the opportunity to see this side of him outside of the walls of our house.  I'm of the belief that you get what you give in life... Marsha, may blessings come to you and yours like sunlight through a windowpane.  You will never know just how much you have touched us with your gift of friendship and love.  I hope you appreciate this story, Dear Reader, because it's true; no names have been changed to protect anyone.  We might be alone sometimes... but like Michael taught me today, we can still, still skate.  Love to all... Noah


1 comment:

  1. As par usual, from the heart, and written for the ages.

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