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Amy Krouse Rosenthal, a children’s book author based in Chicago, discovered that the pain she thought was caused by appendicitis was actually an ovarian cancer tumor. She was diagnosed with the cancer in 2015.
In an essay that she wrote for the Modern Love column of The New York Times, Rosenthal talked about how the revelation affected her whole life, especially her marriage with her husband, Jason. She and Jason had been together for 26 years.
Their three children had gone off for college. They made plans to travel around South Africa, Asia, and take up fellowships in Harvard and various other writing programs. All of them had to be cancelled.
So, Rosenthal did what was the best that she could do at the present moment. She wrote a dating profile for her husband. She said, “He is an easy man to fall in love with. I did it in one day.”
Rosenthal wrote, “I have never been on Tinder, Bumble or eHarmony, but I’m going to create a general profile for Jason right here, based on my experience of coexisting in the same house with him for, like, 9,490 days.”
The basic statistics of Jason: He’s 5’ 10”, 160 pounds, with salt-and-pepper hair and hazel eyes.
Rosenthal then proceeded to write that Jason is a sharp dresser and is fit. Jason also has a good taste in live music and extremely known for his cooking. She wrote, “He was indeed a captivating character… He is an absolutely wonderful father… Jason is compassionate—and he can flip a pancake.”
Rosenthal noted that although Jason can confidently express himself artistically, he has a career as a lawyer that was keeping him busy.
Rosenthal shared that Jason “showed up at our first pregnancy ultrasound with flowers.”
She added, “Did I mention that he is incredibly handsome? I’m going to miss looking at that face of his.”
Rosenthal wrote the last three paragraphs: “I want more time with Jason. I want more time with my children. I want more time sipping martinis at the Green Mill Jazz Club on Thursday nights. But that is not going to happen. I probably have only a few days left being a person on this planet.
“The most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins.
“I’ll leave this intentional empty space below as a way of giving you two the fresh start you deserve.”
