Love You to the Moon and Back

A Real Life Story by Glenn Hansen

Dedicated to Sweet Judith, wherever you are in God’s universe.

CHAPTER 5

In the five months of our daily hospital visitations, we did learn so much more about each other and our friendship continued to grow and flourish. There was so much I liked about Judy. Her intelligence, positive demeanor, strength of character, and her giving and caring nature, all in an increasingly difficult personal situation. She gave me encouragement, hope and strength in many aspects of my life. As I am one who struggles trying to find a way forward for humanity and determined to work toward a pure heart, she was golden for me. Often, after a visit at the hospital, I would find my spirit elevated.

I, of course, reciprocated by caring deeply for her, providing for her needs in any way I could; and talk about our shared optimism, spiritualism and the love and hope it provided. I also tried to use humour to take the edge off of the ongoing situation. I loved the feisty fun way Judy would sometimes respond. That was my dear friend Judy.

Fairly early on in my visits to the hospital, is when she first texted me “Love you to the moon and back,” in saying goodnight one evening. At first, I honestly did not know what to make of this. It was a nice sentiment for her to express to me, but what did this mean? I had never heard this before and didn’t realize it was a saying. While I do have some language prowess, I never encountered this phrase before.

On my visit the next day, I asked her about this. She said it was a familiar saying and that it was probably her favourite expression to share with people she felt close to. What a wonderful thing to say to someone. I had never heard the expression or what its context is before. It made me feel good and reaffirmed that what I was doing in coming to see her every day was the right thing to do. Actually, it was more than just worthwhile; on a profound level we had a special connection and it made me more determined than ever to visit her daily. My heart and head agreed on this.  

It was in the hospital that another game came back into my life, cribbage. I hadn’t played this in years but I picked up the game and it became a featured element in our visits for quite awhile until Judy couldn’t sit up for an extended period anymore. We would laugh and make jokes about each other as it related to the many games we played. It turns out I was a cheater even if I lost the game. It was all part of my illicit long term game strategy. We enjoyed many hours of playing. It was an escape for her from the otherwise increasingly dreary, weary days that she was spending alone in the hospital ward.

After five plus months, her condition had seriously degraded to the point where survival became very uncertain. But then, God’s universe opened a door for her. It was on a Thursday when I was surprised to get a phone call from Judy. Texting was our main mode of remote communication. She was being transferred out of the regular hospital into a specialized healthcare facility, Riverview Healthcare Centre, tomorrow morning. She wanted to know if I could come in the morning to pack her up for the trip. I said, “of course.” The stretcher service was going to take her and her belongings to the new place. I decided to ask a young at heart dear older friend, Carol, for her assistance and she was happy to oblige. I remained calm and focused on the task at hand, but I wondered what was going to follow as a result of this new development. I know Judy did as well.