The Coffee Table
A lot of things that seem important lose their significance in the big picture of life. Consider David and Meri, happily married, partners, soul mates. With similar life perspectives, they find joy and excitement in each other’s intellect, charm, and tenacity. Indeed, their unconditional love catapults them over ex-spousal discontent, stepchildren erratic behavior, illness, embarrassing situations, and financial woes…Typical life experiences.
Yet, in spite of their love, David has a behavior that nettles Meri. David likes to take his shoes off and place them beneath their stylish coffee table. So, after a day’s work, as they cuddle up on their soft leathery sofa, David would rest his arms around Meri, take his shoes off and kick them beneath the coffee table. Instead of enjoying the moment, the ambience abruptly changes when Meri’s temperament becomes cranky, cynical, and crappy. Time and time again, Meri shares her feelings with David. David stops for a while, but as habits go, his shoes end up back under the coffee table.
Meri ponders about her attitude. “Why do I get so irritated with David about his shoes under ‘my’ coffee table?” “Why can’t I just accept this behavior?” “Is this such a big deal?”
She decides to seek counseling to better understand her attitude. However, on her way to the first counseling session, she receives an emergency call to come immediately to the City Medical Center. David has suffered a massive heart attack and is in the emergency room in critical condition. Meri’s heart feels like it drops into her stomach. As she turns the car around to drive to the Medical Center, her heart starts rapidly pounding. Tears start to flow. Her tongue feels dry, almost parched. She barely escapes several car accidents as she frantically drives to the hospital inattentive to her surroundings.
When she arrives, the cardiologist explains that cardiac catheterization is necessary to assess heart damage. David is weak and in a near comatose state. So, he is not able to talk to her. After cardiac catheterization, because of the number of blocked arteries, surgery is necessary to repair the damaged blood vessels and hopefully save his life.
Thank God, David survived the surgery but the next 3 days were “touch and go.” Meri never left the cardiac care unit. Throughout this turbulent time, Meri has frequent downpours of tears. With tears streaming down her face, she recalls the multiple times she complained to David about leaving his shoes under the coffee table. How silly this seemed now as he fights for his life. And the thought enters her conscious that he might not survive this ordeal.
Over the next 3 days, David gradually improves. By day 7, David is ready to go home and begin cardiac rehabilitation. Meri is the happiest person on Planet Earth. Both of them are excited that this day has come.
Finally, they arrive at their residence. Although David is weak, the delight of being home makes him feel stronger. As they walk into the foyer, he stops to smell the fragrance filtering from the ceramic diffuser. When he enters the living room, David sits down to rest. Something blocks his path as he tries to stretch his legs out under the coffee table. He glances downward and to his amazement, Meri has placed all his shoes under the coffee table. They both laugh heartily and embrace. And as they caress, David and Meri feel the warmth of each other’s body. And somehow, both knew that in addition to the healing of David’s physical heart, a miraculous healing was taking place inside both of them.
