Dearest Sylvia, My pacemaker is a small device placed in my chest that uses electrical impulses to keep my heartbeat going. I received my Medtronic pacemaker eleven years ago when my heart stopped, a cardiac syncopy in a Kentucky rest area on the way to our Michigan lake cabin.  The stopping of my heart made me black out, a condition undesirable for driving the I-75 corridor north. My pacemaker has made a profound difference in the quality of my life.  It keeps my heart from dropping below a beat per second. I sleep well at night.  My breathing never stops, and I have energy for living and loving in the now.

This morning at my checkup, I discovered that it is time to replace my device.  Its battery, unlike that bunny with the drum, is giving out.  Next Tuesday, I will travel to Atlanta for a replacement, a newer model with more bells and whistles, one that will last me into my early nineties.

You, darling bride of my youth, are my real pacemaker.  In the last fifty plus years, you have captured the electrical system of my heart.  You keep me honest, grounded in body, mind and spirit.  You lift me up when I am down and bring me down gently when I fly too close to the sun.  You believe in me and love me even when that love is deemed crazy by others. I don’t deserve your love, but breathe it in like the oxygen that keeps me alive.

You have access to my heart and, unlike the mechanical device, you do not need an upgrade.  You are flesh of my flesh and spirit of my spirit.  I can never express the joy and comfort that you bring to my existence. You are my personal pacemaker with a lifetime warranty.

Love you – Eddie Bert