Keeping the Vows

     He was not the most talented of the seven brothers in his family and definitely not the tallest; I consider him the most handsome but, as his daughter, I may be prejudiced.  He didn't remodel our home, fix his own car and never built anything memorable, except us kids.  His gardening was limited to a few tomatoes and flowers.  He didn't serve on any boards, join any clubs or rise to distinction at work.  He served as a clerk in the army and worked in an office for most of his career. He didn't even lead us to the Lord, he followed us kids.  In a group he would be noticed only for being quiet.  But he did one thing outstandingly well.  He kept his wedding vows.
     Of the 57 years of their marriage thus far, only eight were unclouded by my mom's schizophrenia. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health... Through all the confusion of  growing up with an unstable mother, Dad was the glue that held our family together and the rock that held us steady.  He didn't do that by inspiring speeches, hugs or camping trips, he just kept coming home.  He kept coming home to a wife who treated him as a stranger, servant or enemy.  He was not always patient, but he was steady when she was moody and he kept coming home to us.  He paid the bills, mowed the grass, lived a quiet, unremarkable life and kept coming home to a loveless marriage and the children who needed him.
     In the later years of her schizophrenia he became mom's caregiver and increasingly stuck at home until October 2010 when her strength deteriorated to the point that she needed to be placed in a facility where she is now and, in the ways he can, he is still taking care of her, still keeping his vows.  There may be other men who would love so faithfully but I cannot think of any.  Heroes do not always rush in saving lives and leading others, sometimes they save them one day at a time.  They just keep coming home to the people they love.