We are big fans of the TV show Supernatural and while it was on we really enjoyed Harper’s Island. It was through these two shoes that I started to enjoy the work of a character actor named Jim Beaver.  In Supernatural his character, Bobby Singer is easily one of my favorites.  (Heck, I like him more than I like one of the main characters!)  In looking at his Bio on IMDB he also was in Deadwood (just added to my NetFlix queue as Timothy Olyphant is in it too… Lucky me, R looks like him, only better looking!).

So anyways, I was reading one of my ‘women magazines’ as the kids call them, and noticed there was a book being recommended by someone named Jim Beaver.  I wondered it it was the same person, and looked it up on Amazon.  Sure enough it was, and I purchased the book for my Kindle on the spot.  I was in the midst of reading another book, and then after that I got caught up in something else, but a few days ago I started reading it, and got drawn in.  Beaver was married to a woman that sounds like the type of woman we all want to know-Cecily Adams.  I did not follow Star Trek, but I know from reading her character developed quite a following after she appeared in Deep Space Nine.  She was also well known and well respected for her work as a Casting Director on several hit TV shows.  What started out as curiosity about one of my new favorite character actors became true admiration.  The love he has (I don’t say had because I don’t think a love like that will ever die or be forgotten) for his wife was beautifully documented in his emails to friends, family and strangers as she valiantly fought for her life after she was diagnosed with lung cancer.  I think Beaver eloquently describes what everyone who is lucky enough to be married to the love of their life fears-going it alone if your best friend dies.

Reading this book, I have realized how lucky I am.  R is my best friend.  Yes, sometimes he bugs me. Yes, sometimes I bug him. But he is the best thing that ever happened to me.  One thing I have always found strange is when people tell me how I can do it, and by that they mean how do I deal with having him home most of the time?  R telecommutes (which I love…as not only does it save us money on gas, but I think it is great that the government is supporting and working toward a more green initiative) and he is home more often than he is in the office.  We are together probably 90% of the time.  We run errands together, eat lunch together, do chores with one another, etc. We are together.  When he goes out of town, I miss him deeply.  Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think either of us is co-dependent.  We can function fine without the other one, but I think we just prefer to be together, and isn’t that how it should be?  Occasionally, I have been asked if we are newlyweds, and to that I answer no, we have been married over a decade, and together for 12.  But when you find that person you are supposed to be with, why wouldn’t you just prefer to be with them?  Since I get so many looks of surprise, I wondered if our relationship was unique, and perhaps it is, but we certainly aren’t alone in our love for one another.

“Life’s That Way…” is the type of book that touches you. I think even R enjoys hearing me share little bits of it. He even read some of it to me the other day while I was in the bath.  It is sad. It has moments where I read and tears just run down my face, but it also makes me smile.  It makes me realize that no matter what life hands you, you must find a way to move forward and continue to dream.