I Missed It

I knew. I knew by the way his shoulders slumped and the contorted expression on his face. It said everything that he couldn’t.

As we neared on the sidewalk, he glanced at a neighbor leaving for work and said in a whisper, “Have a good day at the office.” She didn’t hear him and soon the car door slammed and she was off for work.

As he approached, I looked at him and with tears in my eyes, and said, “I am so sorry.”

His wife of some 26 years, took her last breath the evening before. It was her third battle with cancer and he said even in the end she fought bravely. She loved life and he loved her. He said he had cried so much that he simply had no tears left. His daughter was worried about him, but he assured her that he and his dog would be okay.

I hugged him several times with tears streaming down my face. I cried for his loss and mine. I apologized to him for my mistake.

You see, we have been neighbors for three years. They live across the street about five houses down. I would see him and his wife riding bikes and walking the dog and always politely wave-but I never even knew their names. Somehow the busyness of life just got in the way. I never knew them. I never took the time to know them. That changed some four weeks ago.

Hearing she was sick, I stopped and introduced myself to him, gave him all of our contact information and urged him to please call if we could help in any way. The girls and I made several surprise trips with her favorite ice creams, flowers or hand made cards. And he surprised us with some vegetables from the local farmer’s market on a Sunday.

I talked to her once several weeks ago. She was gracious, courageous and downright funny even in the middle of a fight for her life. Sadly, in all of the three years we were neighbors that would be our very first and very last conversation.

So- I was sorry. I was deeply saddened for him, his daughter, their family and friends. But…as I explained to him, I was sad for me. I missed it. I missed getting to know a gem that lived right here-so near and I missed it.