Well, last night my wife made the sweetest unreasonable request of me. [View all]

We were talking on the bed, and out of nowhere, she said, "Honey, can you please live at least five more years. I don't want to live without you."

I'm facing a health problem, something treatable but potentially serious, with some risk, and she said that to me, out of nowhere.

I know her 44 years, in two of which I was living the treacly lyrics of the pop song "Cherish," this while running into her with the latest in series of her boyfriends:

...but unlike the wimp in the song, I told her and got to hold her...

...and here we are, all these years later...

...and she's so damned sweet...

I can't believe I got to live this life with her; she made it so damned wonderful.

Whenever my time comes, the last thing I'll think is how much I love her.

I'll try to honor her request, but really, I don't want to live without her, and selfishly, I'd prefer to die first.

It's not really under my control, this outcome.