Carol’s husband Jim was killed in an accident. Jim, age 52, was driving home from work. A teenager with a very high blood-alcohol hit him. Jim died instantly, while the teenager was treated and released! It was Carol’s 50th birthday and Jim had two plane tickets to Hawaii. He was going to surprise her. She was asked, "How have you survived this?": With her eyes welling up with tears, she said: "The day I married Jim, I promised I would never let him leave the house in the morning without telling him I loved him. He made the same promise. It got to be a joke among us as babies came along. It got to be a hard promise to keep...
...running down the driveway.
...leaving notes in the car.
...with a mouthful of breakfast.
...with screaming children and a barking dog.
"It was like a funny challenge. We made lots of memories trying to say "I love you" before noon everyday of our married life. The morning Jim died, he left a birthday card in the kitchen and slipped out to the car. I heard the engine starting. I raced out to the car and banged on the window until he rolled it down. ’Here on my 50th birthday Mr. James E. Garret, I Carol Garret want to go on record as saying I love you!’ That’s how I survived, knowing the last words I said to Jim were, "I love you."