Chapter Twelve - The Ways I Remember Her

12/12/19 - I seldom see Penny in my dreams, which, in the world of interpreting dreams, probably has a significance that I don't understand.  But last night she appeared as a voice from out of view.  I don't recall the circumstance in which she was talking, or even what she was saying.  But it was her strong, confident voice in the way that she most often talked.  A little later in the dream, she was in view -- partially.  Something was obstructing my view, so I could only see her legs, in the black yoga pants she so often wore.  Now, both of these dream visits are likely the result of yesterday watching a short video clip from two years ago of our then two-year-old grandson, Lincoln, climbing up and down a step-stool as Penny and I encouraged him and counted his steps: "One....two...three...YAY!"  It was a fun and wonderful moment with our grandson that made me quickly grab my cell phone to record.  It is also the way I remember Penny so often from "Life Before".  But my waking memories of her are all over the place.  I once wrote that it will be difficult to remember her as she really was at the end,  since when she died I immediately defaulted to the happy memories of our 42 years together.  But that has turned out to be not necessarily true.  Besides the video clip I saw yesterday in a Facebook "memory", I have very few of her.  But the two I play and re-play most often were taken during her illness, and those portray her almost as she was at the end, and I so love watching those.  For you see those remind me of the time of our deepest and closest love.  For all the years we were together, and all we experienced in our lives as lovers, parents, partners and best friends, none compared to our sharing her final journey, despite the pain and the certain outcome.  More than any time before, we were unified in purpose and destiny, knowing that we shared the pain, we shared the hope, and that when death came it would take our shared existence.  I think of the last time I gently helped her climb our stairs and how I wanted to simply fold her in my arms and hold her tight forever.  As much as I love looking at the photo boards I prepared for her Celebration of Life, showing her life of smiles, laughter, travel, and happy children, the pictures that mean the most, that immediately bring the tears, are those of Penny with arms so thin, often in her wheelchair, but always with the sweet smile and loving look that I long to see every night in my dreams.