As I mentioned before, I've gotten to spend some time with a senior couple from church over the past couple months. Now that they have moved closer to me, I'm getting an opportunity to see them more often. The more time I spend with them, the more I love them. What's more important, the more time I spend with them, the more I hold onto a lost hope that at the core of people is a desire to be good and loving.
You'll probably see a few more posts on this couple as I continue to learn from them, even though they have no idea they are teaching me anything. I continue to soak in their love and kindness, even though they have no idea how much that means to me. I continue to have opportunities with them that I will never get within my own family, even though they don't realize it.
Last night, I spent an hour with the husband. Unfortunately, the wife is again in the hospital. This summer they've gotten into quite a pattern of swapping turns with short term stays in the local hospital. Hopefully, fall will bring that to an end and we can get them both back home, healthier and happy.
The first thing on the agenda last night was getting the husband outside so he could get used to his motorized scooter. For not having much experience on it, he did a great job! Now let me tell you something...if you think an 80 year-old man can't get squirrelly, think again!
We started out our walk with him asking me if I wanted to see him do a wheelie. Jokingly, I said I'd give him $5. I should have known I was in trouble when he said, "I'm only running this thing about a 1/4 of the speed it can go." Followed by, "Want to see me run it wide open?" I laughed it off and continue to enjoy the sound of the crunchy leaves.
As we were headed down the last transition from sidewalk to street, he turned his head and smiled. I'm not sure what he did, but it ended in him nearly spinning out and him laughing hysterically. I learned I better go in front of him on transitions from now on!
Back at the house, I helped with some little things that needed done and he sat down to eat dinner. This was my favorite part of the evening.
I sat down to chat with him while he ate. We were talking about how he could visit with neighbors if he got more comfortable on his scooter. He said most of the people around were women, but he didn't mind. He shared with me that he never had a lot of guy friends, but had made friends with lots of women. Understandably, as he pointed out, he worked in a woman's world. He worked in schools, which used to be predominately women.
He said that his wife always kept a close eye on him around all of those women. He shared that even though she had no reason to be, she could get a little jealous. He said that he didn't think he could go visit with any of the women that lived around him because she could still get a "little jealous." I saw the twinkle in his eyes. It was that look you see in a young man who knows he's got a good young woman who loves him and he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with her.
Now, I hope that when I've been married 50+ years that I still love my husband enough to get a tad bit jealous. I know jealousy overall isn't a good thing, but in this case...it's just plain cute. It's like they never lost those warm fuzzy feelings that you get when you are first dating someone and want them to be all yours.
I want to love my husband like that. I want that desire for him to be all mine to never fade. I hope when we are old, feeble, gray and falling apart that we still light up when we talk about each other.
(Note to self: ask this couple someday what the key is to never losing that spark for each other and how you get through those tough times when you don't know from day to day if you'll be able to stand 50+ years with your spouse.)
The twinkle in his eye and grin led to a full laugh as we continued to talk. We both agreed that she probably had nothing to worry about with him talking to his neighbors. As he said, "At my age, what am I gonna do?" To which I responded, "Maybe share a multi-vitamin or a bowl of raisin bran?" His make-you-laugh-till-you-cry response, "I'm NOT sharing my cereal with anybody!"
It's all about the humor and love....truly.
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