Cherish...

CHERISH: (transitive verb)

a. to hold dear; feel or show affection for-to cherish one's native land

b. to keep or cultivate with care and affection; nurture-to cherish a child

c. to entertain or harbor in the mind deeply and resolutely-to cherish a memory

synonyms: adore, love, worship

Banner Baywood Hospital is right down Power Road from our house. Power Road is the main street to get to the mall. Before the freeway came in we traveled up and down Power Road many times a day. Many of the restaurants and the Target we used to shop at are down Power Road. I cannot tell you how many times I have passed Banner Baywood and never really given it a thought. A friend told me that I should CHERISH the hospital because that is where Heather met Jesus. I am so sorry, but I don't feel that way at all. Heather met Jesus when she was 8 years old in our living room...and she saw Jesus in heaven..not at Banner Baywood.

However, the corner of Power Road and Baywood Ave is a different story. A CHERISHED memory of Heather in treatment is the Dairy Queen on the corner. During Round A, Heather would be hooked to the IV pole 24 hrs a day for 3 days. She could not be unhooked for any reason. Not even to get CT scans or MRIs. Once she was unhooked we would go to the cafeteria at midnight to get food. Patients are not allowed in the cafeteria. She would put on a jacket so they could not see her hospital ID band. On one such visit we decided to be very adventurous and go to the Dairy Queen on the corner for blizzards. We strolled out of the hospital, through the parking lot, down the little incline and across the street to the DQ for a nice fun, secretive adventure. Bill was panicked. What if something happened to Heather..she passed out or something. the point is nothing happened and it was a fun, rule breaking adventure. I asked someone who worked for the hospital what would happen if we say walked off the property. I was told that we would have to be readmitted through the ER. That was then...now that Banner is a no smoking zone...all patients go to the bus stop or the DQ to smoke and that is fine with the hospital administration. Heather and I were trend setters before the rest. I CHERISH the memory of going to DQ with Heather.

CHERISH is a word that can mean many different things to different people. In a recent discussion I had with a friend it was clear that they really didn't need to be married. Their spouse is just a coworker to them. I was and still am really upset about how they talked about their spouse and family. I told Bill about this conversation and about how sad it made me to hear that this friend didn't ever say the word love. Bill then told me that this friend needed to CHERISH their spouse...the way that he CHERISHES me. Maybe I have heard those words before, but for some reason it really stuck with me. Bill CHERISHES me. In using words that are similar to CHERISH..Bill adores, loves and worships me. (Yes this is my interpretation of the sentence that Bill used) 

I CHERISHED Heather's earthly form. Her soul is in heaven-to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I know that it was just her shell, but I kissed and held that shell for 21 years. I looked at that face nearly everyday for 21 years. That is why it is so hard for me to let go of her ashes. I took great trust that her ashes would arrive in Penn. to begin the diamond process. I was put on alarm when the company making the red Heather diamond didn't know for sure that her ashes arrived at the lab. Today, I learned that the ashes successfully arrived on Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia. Finally, the process is beginning. The ashes are being converted into carbon beginning today, about 2 weeks behind schedule. About 70 days from today I should have confirmation that my diamond is ready to be cut. Keep you posted on the progress...