The "good-bye" I could not say....

The following farewell was written by daughter for My Prince:

Good evening.  For those of you who do not know me, I am Allison, Angela's daughter.

We are all here today to celebrate the life of Dennis.  I know I can speak on behalf of my mother and my family when I say we just wish we could have been a part of it for many more years.

I also believe that I speak for everyone when I say "thank you".  I feel that Dennis would be so proud of the respect you have all shown him be being here today and honored by your presence.

Angela and Dennis would often read quietly together, and sometimes silence is just as valuable as shared words.  It made me think of something I once read:  "You can't skip chapters, that's not how life works.  You have to read every line, meet every character.  You won't enjoy all of it.  Hell, some chapters will make you cry for weeks.  You will read things that you don't want to read, you will have moments when you don't want the pages to end.  But you have to keep going.  Stories keep the world revolving.  Live yours, don't miss out".

That's exactly what Angela and Dennis did.  They lived their story.  They were both brave enough to keep going.  And because of their bravery,  and the love and strength in their hearts, they got a bonus chapter that most of us will never be lucky enough to read for ourselves.  The love they shared was life changing.  Their chapter was a true love story, there is no denying that.  And now we will continue with our own stories, albeit heavy hearted.... but, we are all grateful that Dennis was a part of ours.  He has touched each of us in his own special way and we will forever treasure those memories.

Thank you  for letting me share my thoughts and feelings with all of you.  

"Dennis, you may be gone from our arms, but we will forever hold you in our hearts"

Sometimes, the fairy tale has a sad ending...

The Prince is losing his battle with Multiple Myeloma.  It is so hard for me to comprehend that in October there was "no evidence of disease"... and now this.

I have no words... I am numb... I am frozen in time.  Can I take care of him until he takes his last breath?  OF COURSE I CAN.   Can I understand why we are on this path?  NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE.

Family and friends have been so supportive... so warm and loving.  They all say the same thing to me "I am so heartbroken for you two".... Please, please do not let us be the source of your heartbreak.  When you think of us, please think of the wonderful life we enjoyed, albeit short.  We were given this chance at love and laughter everyday for the past 3 years.  

When I think of Dennis, I will remember all the little things that made us laugh.  He reads me the paper every morning - starting with the back page and moving forward.  I know more about hockey, golf, baseball and football than any woman has a right to know.  My personal favorite is the way he LOVES to read me the obituaries - and if he sees the last name of "Jones", he swears he worked with that guy's relative - because there  is only one Jones family on Long Island, right?  We carefully navigate the puzzle page, some he does, some I do and some we do together.  

He has an incredible thirst for minutia!  Something would pop into his mind and he would research it all day and give me a full report: ex. what island in the South Pacific has the best vegetation -  He studied this stuff like he was going to be a Jeopardy contestant and this was going to be the final question!

He loves music - well, not all music - he loves HIS music - We danced in the kitchen and sang on long car rides.  We took dance class for 3 semesters - always the beginner class.  we figured at some point we would be the best in the class..... that never happened!!

He has taught me so much about life... most importantly, he showed me that I was capable of falling in love again.  He truly earned the title of "Prince".

(Dennis died 4 days after this post....)