Bruce Toews

I guess we all, as people, have our shortcomings. One of my many is an irritating habit of not letting things go. Something might be funny for the first few seconds, and I'll keep beating the proverbial dead horse.

It doesn't matter what the situation was, I was guilty of that this evening when talking to Caroline. Very quietly, very politely, very tactfully, very lovingly, she pointed out what I was doing, and I immediately saw that she was right. Of course, it'd've been beter if I'd figured it out beforehand, rather than after, but at least I did figure it out.

Some people would have taken advantage of the situation, made me feel guilty, gotten angry with me, and so on. But not Caroline. She just forgave me and we moved on from there. Talk about a wonderful, loving, beautiful, incredible lady. It's hard to envision myself worthy of this unparalelled blessing, but I have been blessed, and I am so thankful for Caroline in my life, what she means to me, and how much I love her. May I never take her love for granted, may I never abuse it, may I always strive to be worthy of that love.

Today, Friday, was a special day for a variety of reasons. It started off as usual, with me calling tazcat before I went to work, then continuing our conversation over my cellphone on my way into work.

Work itself was largely uneventful, I got about halfway through Cam Jansen and the Scary Snake Mystery, ah kids' books, before I left. While my appointment with the audiologist was at 4:00, Handi-Transit in its infinite wisdom got me there over an hour early. But I was able to reschedule my return for 5:00 instead of 5:25, which meant not having to stand out in the cold. More on that later.

Going to see the audiologist was not an easy task. It meant coming to terms again with my hearing loss. I was very afraid that they would tell me that I was beyond help. I really want to thank pawpower4me, who really provided me with a lot of encouragement in this regard. Even more, I want to thank Caroline for providing me with calm reassurance, a shoulder, and a sounding board before the appointment, and for being there waiting for me when the appointment was over. We both agree it would have been nice if she could have been there, but of course that wasn't possible ... but her moral support by phone was nothing short of incredible and wonderful.

the audiologist told me that I was not beyond help, to just dismiss that from my mind. He talked about options: what I wanted in hearing aids, what was important to me and what was not. He told me that for my type of hearing loss, the behind-the-ear models were better suited, which is fine because that's what I really wanted anyway. I go back on the 29th for my new hearing aids. Lisa Reid Audiology in general, and Jeff, the audiologist with whom I dealt in particular, are to be commended for their professional, polite, understanding and courteous handling of the whole thing.

The driver I had on the way home was not exactly on laughing gas. He was clarly grumpy about having me added to his schedule, and he made that clear. I was very glad to get away from him.

I spent the evenign talking with Caroline, listening to some OTR with her, and so on. This was a very special day for the two of us: on August 15 of last year, six months ago to the day, Caroline and I became a couple. What can I say, Caroline, but thank you - thank you so much for the happiness you've brought into my life.