*Love
“I love you massively”
Stickers on Paper (Miniature) by Elizabeth Izant
Love
Day 5 — February 14
It was Valentine’s Day 1990, when Elizabeth and I had known each other not quite six months. Evelyn Bauer, the church secretary at Grace Lutheran Church in Wadsworth, Ohio, buzzed my office intercom and cheerfully said, “Kent, there is a delivery for you!” A couple hours later, I could hear the smirk in her voice as she said, “Kent, there’s another delivery for you!!” Then another a couple hours later. And again near the end of the day.
Elizabeth had enlisted her co-workers to deliver chocolates, and homemade cookies, and flowers, and a Valentine balloon throughout the day, and Evelyn made sure everyone knew about my sheepish grin as I retrieved my treasures. Together, Elizabeth and I had a lot of chuckles about that first Valentine’s Day.
Through the years, Elizabeth’s verbal expression of love took the form of these words: “I love you massively.” She even created this miniature framed Valentine to enshrine her sentiments: massively since 1990.
This is without a doubt my most treasured piece of art.
I feel “loved massively” in this photo taken as we celebrated our 25th marriage anniversary in 2015.
Our marriage on October 20, 1990. (Be sure to compare my suit and tie in each photo!)
Day 5: the art of love and loss
view all posts at kentmueller.com
February 10, 2020, was the day my wife, Elizabeth Izant, entered the hospital. She and I were on a hopeful journey following her heart transplant five months prior. On March 1, she entered hospice and died March 11. This series is not about her medical journey. This is about sharing stories and reflections about our life together. In our 29 years of marriage, we collected a piece of art or two each year, often in celebration of our marriage anniversary. Each day from February 10 to March 11, I will be sharing an image of that art. And a story.