In a moving essay, Cindy McCain reflects on her last moments with her late husband, Senator John McCain, whodied at age 81 in August, and how his memory guides her. Though, she admits, going on “without him is not an easy adjustment.”
The legendary war hero had been battling cancer since 2017. When his last day was upon them, the end “came swiftly,” Mrs. McCain says of her husband of 38 years.
“[It was] as if he had taken the final measure of his situation and resolved to embrace it, give thanks and leap into the hereafter,” she writes inTodayadding, “like the daring aviator he had once been and the brave soul he had remained.”
David Hume Kennerly/Getty
Shortly after Sen. McCain’s death, Mrs. McCain tweeted, “My heart is broken.”
Jae C. Hong - Pool/Getty
Known as a “maverick,” Sen. McCain was a prisoner of war for five years and went on to challenge the conventions of the Republican party. Late in his life, the senator also stood out because he challenged President Donald Trump.
The letter addressed Sen. McCain’s gratitude for his accomplished life and the importance of sticking to American ideals despite “present difficulties.” According to some observers, it also took subtle shots atPresident Donald Trumpthrough mentions of “tribal rivalries” and “[hiding] behind walls rather than [tearing] them down.”
Meghan McCain/Instagram
In the letter, the senator also gave thanks for his family and reflected on his long career. At the end, he offered hope and a challenge to the American people.
“Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here,” he wrote. “Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America.”
Just like his letter, Mrs. McCain writes in theTodaypiece that her husband wanted his funeral to serve as inspiration “to keep the faith, to fight for our ideals.”
‘He Made Me Better.’ George W. Bush Pays Tribute to Former Rival John McCain
In a moment of humor, she writes in theTodayessay, “as the music swelled in that magnificent cathedral, I could’ve sworn I heard his voice complain it was taking ‘too damn long.’ ”
It is this legacy of integrity and humor that continues to push Mrs. McCain forward. Not only has a new campaign, Mavericks Needed, been launched in the senator’s honor, Mrs. McCain has also been inspired to continue her good works.
“My own work in the same spirit continues, fighting human trafficking, chairing the McCain Institute board, speaking out for the persecuted and threatened,” she writes, per the essay, “enjoying and worrying about my children, and especially enjoying our grandson, Mac, otherwise known as John Sidney McCain V.”
“Admittedly, after 38 years of marriage to the force of nature that was John McCain, living without him is not an easy adjustment,” she writes in theTodayessay. “But adjust we will. He left us our instructions, and every day I can still hear him insist, ‘Don’t slack off. You know what to do.’ “
source: people.com
