Holding Hands

We have held hands through the best of times and the worst of times. I guess everybody has their thing, and other than butt touches I think that is ours.  

We held hands during the IVF process, during doctor’s visits, P’s delivery, in the hospital rooms, at St. Judes, and during her final days.  We held hands walking down the beach, walking down the aisle, walking through the woods, and walking up a snow covered mountain in Montana.  We hold hands all the time, and it may be due to my long stride and her short legs so that we stay together, but nonetheless that’s just us.  She held my hand the other night on the drive back from dinner and it was perfect.

There wasn’t anything super special about it.  We were just driving back on boring 81 listening to the Lumineers and needing nothing more than each other for a few minutes.  I don’t know why it was special but it was.  I didn’t want to let go and I didn’t want the ride to end for some reason.  Car rides aren’t as exciting without P, but all the good times holding her hand rushed through my mind and just made me happy.

Penelope learned at a very young age that hand holding was our thing.  One of the first pictures in the NICU is of all 3 of us, P holding our fingers and the caption saying, “We will make it through this together.”  I held little bit’s hand almost the entire ride back from the beach, shoulder pain and all, just to let her know we were going home and it will be ok. 

It may be Valentine’s Day and I might feel a little sentimental, but I believe in holding hands.  It might not mean much at the time, but be there for your wife, your husband, your kid, or whoever.  Just be there with them, hold their hand, and enjoy the moment of doing something together. 10 bucks says you are probably smiling when you are holding hands too, and that makes it that much better. One day, sadly, you might just miss something as simple as holding hands and just wish you could have one more time.