Excerpted from The Abortion by Richard Brautigan, ©1970:
We were both tired, but not as nervous as we could have been facing the prospects of the day, because we had gone into a gentle form of shock that makes it easier to do one little thing after another, fragile step by fragile step, until you've done the big difficult thing waiting at the end; no matter what it is.
I think we have the power to transform our lives into brand-new instantaneous rituals that we calmly act out when something hard comes up that we must do.
We become like theaters.
I was taking turns watching the coffee perk and watching Vida at her bath. It was going to be a long day but fortunately we would get there only moment by moment.
Probably one of the most complex and daunting things I've ever done was help guide Mona through the process of getting her kidney transplant, and that was exactly how we got through it: fragile step by fragile step, moment by moment.
One of the things I agree with is that one thing couples should do to test compatibility and how they get through times together is taking a trip together. Tom and I have taken many trips in our 13 years. Each one got better and better; being able to help the other one through things that weren't easy for them. I believe every challenge is always a step forward, even if you think it's backwards , at times.
ReplyDeleteI certainly would not have even attempted home dialysis without Tom.
But, yes, I agree: fragile step by fragile step.