On two occasions, in other times and places, I had exchanged vows to "love and honor.....in sickness and in health". No such spoken pledge has ever existed between Kay and me and yet, whenever the darkness of crisis descends, we reach out to each other with unselfish concern. We have each said, "My life is upside down when things aren't right in yours."
Some years ago, Kay fell from the roof of our house when the ladder slid out from under her. After calling 911 and covering her with a blanket, I knelt beside her on the ground and began to pray. As I prayed it was revealed to me the very breadth of all my same-sex partner had come to mean to me. "I know she's an aging lady but she's my partner in life and please don't let her die.We have so much more to do."
Kay prayed similarly when I had food poisoning so deadly I lost consciousness and ended up in the emergency room.
We listen more and more to the crones within. Wisely, they have shed light on the importance of compassionate coping "in sickness and in health". And now that we are on the threshold of our Civil Union, these vows take on an even more special meaning.
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