Dedicated to Cheryl and Chris
Submitted by Kirsten
“True love stories are not like fairy tales,” my older sister often says, gently cautioning me not to expect a white knight on a horse to come galloping through Washington, DC to sweep me off my feet and carry me away to “happily ever after-land.”
And yet, my sister and her husband’s marriage is exactly what I dreamed about as a little girl combined with what I hope for now as an adult. She and her husband were married a little over a year ago and honeymooned in Hawaii, and its exquisite beauty seemed the perfect fit for their amazing relationship. But all was not perfect. Eight months after their marriage, Chris was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer and he has been undergoing chemotherapy in order to stop the growth of this insidious disease.
It is difficult to talk about the cancer as “his” though, as they have shared this illness as much as any two people possibly could. The trauma of the diagnosis, the fear, the worry, the pain, the uncertainty, and the hope that they have for their future together.
So even though my sister wants me to be realistic and to not let fairy tales influence my ideas of what “true love” should look like, through her own marriage she has shown me that fairy tales are not simply to be read and hoped for; instead they are to be lived every day in small victories, shared joys, and immeasurable love and hope.