Member-only story
New Year’s resolution: choose love
My neighbour is a 95-year-old man. Every morning he wakes up before me, and while I’m drinking my coffee on the couch, I see him through the window, all dressed up, starting his car. (Yes, he’s driving, and he is probably a better driver than I am.) He is always in a suit, and he doesn’t come home until noon.
One morning, I had to leave the house around the same time he usually does, so I got a chance to greet him and ask about his morning routine.
“My wife was quite ill, so she is in a home now. I go and see her every day. We have our morning coffee and breakfast, and then we go for a walk and talk about our day,” he said, like it’s the most ordinary thing in the world.
She was 26 when they got married and he was 30. It was considered quite late at the time, especially for her.
They met at a social event, accidentally. His plan was to show up at the party, and make an excuse so he can leave early. Nowhere in that plan was meeting anyone in particular that evening, let alone the love of his life.
“But that’s the one thing you don’t get to choose, you see. It picks you.”
They didn’t have cellphones at the time, and life moved in a different pace.
“We have been married for 65 years, you see. I miss her terribly, every day and every…
