First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

filed in Daily Life

An Elegy to a Husband

April 6, 2010 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

In my best-case unmarried universe, I cheerfully make all the limitations work, from not having a spouse for heavy lifting to sleeping alone. But spunk doesn’t make up for everything. I was really moved by Jane Brody’s series of columns in the Times, in which she poignantly writes about her husband of 43 years who recently succumbed to lung cancer. Here’s an excerpt from her piece, The Pain of Losing a Spouse is Singular:    

It is not just that I will miss my husband’s company, his acerbic wit, and his astute commentary at movies, concerts and plays. There are also practical issues that serve as daily reminders of his absence. Who will open the jar that defies my efforts, close a stuck window, hold the ladder while I change a light bulb, split wood for the fireplace, take the wheel when I’m too sleepy to drive?

Illustration: Hold Yourself Up by Mel Kadel. Her work will be exhibited at Subliminal Projects Gallery in L.A until May 8th.

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