Whole Enchilada

This is a picture of my Uncle Arnie. You know the family members that aren't truly blood members but have been around for ever since you were born so that is enough to classify them as family?! That would be him. He has been around since I was one day old. I see him every summer and he always likes to take me skiing and having me around as I did growing up as a child. 

He has a type of cancer that I am not sure what it is called, oh wait, pancreatic cancer. You can see it really hit him but he doesn't show it. His wife has Parkinson's disease and its now taking over. My first reaction would be sadness but when they joke about "who is racing to death first" and still making jokes about  "he would rather have Alzheimer's  because at least you dont know your losing your mind" it puts a new perspective. 

They way Uncle Arnie and Aunt Shirley interact is exactly what I look for for my future. He is so caring about her emotions and well-being. Helping her into the car, the compliments he gives her, and the love you see burning through him, makes my heart warm. They are a team and I haven't seen teams like them in this generation. Its easier to ditch then to truly work through a difficult time. When they said for better or worse, they truly meant it.

Married for 55 years, they share their stories to us at the lunch table. They both laugh at the times and Aunt Shirley adds onto the things Arnie missed. They both walk so slow, but still with each other. As he inches his way, as she shakes her hand due to the illness, they look so unimpaired, simple. 

I am not going to settle, I am going to find the prince that even when I have to wear a diaper because I can't control my bladder he wont mind. When I say stupid things and don't make sense that he knows exactly what I mean. Where he holds my heart as his prized possession and wants to nourish it and help me grow into God's great daughter, I will know that I am okay with growing old and even though I may be broken I am still the whole enchilada to him.