Kenton Eifert was the subject of my story “Loss of My Only Exception”.  Keeping in contact with his wife, Jackie, has multiple levels of motivation to me.  First, Though I don’t know her that well, I want to lend support and empathy for her sake.  Second, and more selfishly, I want to learn how she is navigating the post husband situation, in the optimistic hope that she is doing well.  I suppose that I am looking for clues and reassurance as to how Mary might be set up in the best position with an enjoyable life.  They had a much longer life together than us, with many kids. That makes the loss large.  Though the grief is not trivial, I am pleased.  Her life is going on, with the knowledge that that is exactly what her husband wanted.  Her success, though difficult at times, is encouraging to me.  This speaks to the heart of the problem that I wish I could solve.  The legacy of Kenton’s life is an inspiration to some of us who need it.  I hope that I also can leave a reasonably useful positive effect with the people that matter.

My wife’s trials are longer term problems than mine.  I have always been a problem solver. I’m not sure how I can help on this one, I probably can’t, but helping someone else feels much nicer that worrying about your own problems.  

As for my own situation, after enough time, I get tired of it.  One’s own personal mortality is a major consumer of your thoughts for a few months, perhaps much more.  Though inevitable, it is useless.  That being said, reality is never too terribly far away.  It’s just an old nag that I try not to listen to.