The School Picture
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The School Picture

thatnursepatty

I had a patient tell me about her husband some time ago. They were married over 50 years before he passed. Her name was Sarah and her husband name was Bill. I walked into her room she said, “Patty, come here I want to show you something.” She handed me a picture of Bill, “this is my husband, he was so handsome. This picture was before he gotten sick.” Then she began to tell me. Now before Sarah knew of Bill, she was in grade school and they had school pictures taken one day. She received a packed at home when she arrived after school about a week later. It was the school pictures. She said she hated them, they were awful, and vowed to never show anyone. She went up to her room and tore them all to pieces. Not a trace of that ugly old picture was left.

After she and Bill married she was in her kitchen one afternoon and her husband came up behind her and said, “ look at what I have got.” With a mischievous voice, She turned around and it was that ugly school picture. She said, “I was upset and told him to tear it up, but he snatched it away and said, ‘no this is mine.’ And I never saw it again.”

Now present time and Bill contracted Covid and died, she said, “ when they gave me his wallet I went thru it after the little funeral we had had for him and there that ugly picture was.” She handed me the school picture of a small girl with her bangs uneven. “He had kept it all those years, I knew he loved me, but I guess I didn’t know how much until I pulled that out of his wallet.” I gave the picture back to her. “You see it doesn’t have a mark on it. Not a tear. It’s not even faded.” With a tear in her eye. “He kept it all those years and never damaged it.” I said with a tear in my eye, “ Sarah that’s the sweetest thing I think I have heard.” She said, “he was the sweetest man I ever knew I miss him so much.”

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Published by thatnursepatty

I have been a nurse since 2006, my children are older, my youngest just went off to college. I am single and have many hobbies. I love to sew, paint, blog, and journal. I have 3 girls and a son.

22 thoughts on “The School Picture”

      1. It’s true, makes me sad. I saw my ex/mother/n/law and another friend who were in late 90s, suddenly they lost their voices, could not talk. I wondered if it was the medication they are put on or is it really old age. It’s hard to be taken care of strangers and unfortunately, we will all end up like this most likely. Thanks for what you do, it’s hard work mentally and physically.

        Reply

  4. I’m 51, and all this time, I’ve never found love. I wanted something exactly like what your describing. Hoped for a woman to remember, when I was old or when I was gone, those days when we were young and had the whole world before us. Love may come, but I’ll never have anything like that story. Thank God some people do get to have that. Thank you for shared. It was sweet

    Reply

      1. I haven’t given up yet. It just seems that people expect so much more from a lover/spouse then that generation did, and yet we insist we shouldn’t have to give what that generation did for a lover/partner

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          1. Well at the risk of coming on too strong if your travels take you to Oklahoma I am at least good for hanging out. Just…ya know…saying…

  8. That’s so sweet! My husband is incredibly sentimental and would do something similar, makes me feel bad because he’s way more romantic than I am lol!

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  9. Not only is that the sweetest most romantic story I have heard in way too long, but it is patients telling stories like that, I find, which makes a rather difficult job bearable sometimes.

    Reply

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