Yesterday, Ken had surgery on his right knee. A nagging pain the last couple of years, became a nuisance as it was difficult to sleep, walk or even stand during the songs at church.

The golf-ball-sized lump on the left side of his knee was hard. The surgeon really didn’t know what it was even after scanning it. He told Anne that surgery would take about 30 minutes.

I sat in the waiting room, fingering both his and my wedding bands. Simple bands, they’ve been around the world a few times. When we slipped those rings on each others fingers 36 years ago, we had no idea what challenges and joys lay ahead of us. There were times we twisted the rings with a smile on our faces, and times we wanted to throw them across the room!

90 minutes later, the surgeon came into the waiting room with beautiful photos of the inside of Ken’s knee. So amazing. It’s certainly a place I would never see with the naked eye! He patiently pointed out what several of the photos were; a bit of arthritis and two tears in his meniscus. Then he said, “I took out something about the size of my fist. I had to go really deep so he’s going to feel it for some time.”

I looked at him and said, “Can we just clarify how large this ‘thing’ was that you took out?” He answered, “Well… not as large as my fist, but half the size of your fist.”

Yikes….not expected by him or by us.

The ‘thing’ is off to the labs and hopefully we’ll get more answers within the week.

Meanwhile, I put my drugged husband into the car with help. If you’ve ever been with someone who has just been under anesthesia, you know how completely vulnerable they are. They say things they don’t remember, they can’t do a thing for themselves and they are depending on you to protect them.

I felt like a Mama Bear yesterday! I love that man so much! I would do anything to make sure he is cared for, especially when he can’t care for himself.

Time and practice made our marriage the thing it is today. I’d never go back to those early days. I love who we are today. And if the roles were reversed, I trust Ken would care for me in the same way. I KNOW he would. As they wheeled him off to surgery, half under his drugs, he said, “Go get something to eat. ” The nurse said, “He’s still watching out for you.”

Yes, and now it’s my turn.