Whatever He Says

As we had hoped, Paul came home on the Monday morning after his Friday heart attack.  Over the weekend we had existed in a sort of bubble in the hospital;  insulated  from the rest of the world,which seemed to have faded into insignificance for us.  O n Sunday I thought I would be able to keep my two work appointments on  Monday   and pick Paul up in between when I got the call that he was ready. I was so out of touch with reality!  In fact, we both needed me to just focus on him. He was recovering from an uncomfortably close brush with death and I was cruising on superficial calm, quite out of touch with my emotions. Below the surface lay turbulence I had not acknowledged. On Monday I began to get an inkling of that when I felt panicked at the thought of going to talk with someone about fire regulations while Paul might be waiting for pick up. With the help of my coworkers I managed to adjust my commitments.  At the hospital an ef...

I drove to the city early Friday morning beneath a sky washed in vibrant pink, to join a team of staff helping to host a conference at the beautiful new campus of  Tyndale University College and Seminary . Paul left the house early too, he was part of Faith and Culture Inclusion Network  hosting  OASIS 2015  at the Sheraton Hotel in Richmond Hill and Friday was the last day of that conference. It was just before 3.30 that I returned to my seat and saw a call from Paul coming in on my silenced cell phone. Had I not returned at that moment I wouldn't have seen it but I did and answered it. I heard Paul say deliberately, "Love, I'm okay, but I've had a heart attack," and then more shakily, "It would be very good if you could be here." He told me which hospital he was in. All I could say was, "I'm on my way. I'll be right there!" And on my way out, I told people in my path what had happened, leaving shocked faces in my wake, and prayers...

It's been an exciting and nerve-wracking week, which on so many levels seems like a dream in retrospect. The adventure began when Paul received a phone call last November, telling him that he was to be inducted into the Order of Ontario . He was stunned at the news and spent most of that day trying to process it. He felt unworthy of this recognition, our province's highest official honour. In our almost 45 years of marriage, Paul's overriding characteristics have been generosity, compassion, leadership, and courage to speak out for justice and equity, even in the face of strong opposing forces. Still, the honour felt overwhelming. This sense only deepened at the ceremony, with the other 25 new appointees to the Order of Ontario . We both felt humbled in the company of these men and women and yet, in talking with some of them, many came from humble beginnings, and were simply living out their destiny and calling in their respective fields, using t...