THE MOMENT I SHOULD HAVE REALIZED HE WAS PERFECTED...

The summer my husband was ill we bought a Yukon XL. We had a boat and had been using his Tundra to tow it - but it was a tight squeeze in the back for the kids. The Yukon offered all the towing ability with a lot more internal space. It was his primary vehicle as I was more of a sleek sedan kind of girl. I avoided things like Mini Vans and the trucks were just too big for me to drive.

He really liked the Yukon. It had leather interior and the chemo made him feel chilled - so the heated seats were a huge plus. We usually drove it back and forth to his appointments.

Chris usually had lots of opinions about my driving... probably for good cause. I was a girl from a small town and did not like driving in traffic. He was fearless. He could switch lanes, squeeze in between cars and slide himself through like a stick of butter. I like wide open spaces before I changed lanes. If there was too much traffic - I never moved lanes. I would be perfectly content staying in the same lane the whole drive, versus trying to cut in front of someone or squeeze myself in. It was a rare occasion that I ever drove - if him driving was an option.

One year we drove to Texas for Christmas. Due to bad weather, what would have been a twenty hour drive turned into a thirty hour drive. We had planned to drive straight through as the kids were little and driving while they were asleep was the best and stopping during the day to rest was useless. After about twenty hours of driving Chris had wanted a break. The roads had been icy but it appeared we had reached an area where the ice had melted. I got behind the wheel. Five minutes later I went over a bridge, slid across the road, took the next exit and let him finish the drive there.

While he was sick, the combination of the multiple drives to the "city" and my job at the time that had me on the road a lot had made me a little more comfortable in traffic. One day I was driving on the interstate with him headed to an appointment. We were talking about varios things. He stopped talking. Looked at me, and said "You are really a good driver".

I smiled. What man ever says that to his wife? That was the last step. He was perfect. :0)