“We met in high school,” the soft voice whispers to me as she puts her frail hand on my arm and draws me closer. The elderly couple I’m accompanying on my walk are an inspiration for me today. It was like a breath of fresh air, seeing two elderly people very much in love.
They fell in love some 80 plus years ago, in high school, and from what I can feel at this moment, it is the same love they gave birth to, so long ago. I watch as each one of them pauses to let the other finish off the sentence and I’m in awe of the beauty of this relationship I’m getting to witness.
Way into their 90’s now, they both are very much alert and beautifully secure in their skins. It’s inevitable that with age one becomes weak and slow, but there is also a huge blessing in living together this long. As they recited their stories to me I felt as if we were worlds apart. I wasn’t born when they started their journey, they lived through wars and revolutions and through it all they didn’t let go of one another. They were both strong enough to walk their own walk yet in some compelling way they both held each other up with respect and kindness.
I could see the fondness in which they took care of each other, they both glowed in their own light. The deep lines on their faces were filled with rich history, the silver hair so immaculately kept, it told a story of its own. Their indented smiles radiated warmth from having lived a deserving life. It was through their endearment and warmth that I saw a kind of gratification of life itself, one that had been worth living.
“We’ve been married 76 years,” she continued, and for a split second I felt like a failure. It was definitely an accomplishment to be celebrated. This was a definition of marriage, a ritual full of compromises, trust and respect for each other, it is how it is held up. Throughout their journey, one of them must have waited for the other to catch up, they never allowed the other one to walk behind, just as they were doing now.
“We have children, but no grandchildren”, she said as she let go of my arm and for a sudden moment my heart skipped a beat, and then as if she knew, she consoled me. I heard the sadness in her voice; “It is what it is”. And as if it didn’t matter they moved on. I found it hard to grasp this statement. Oh how life plays us! Here were two wonderful individuals that were missing an entire piece of their future lineage. If anyone deserved the blessing of grandchildren it was them.
As we walked, I listened to their stories of yesteryears and the enthusiasm in which they were told. It’s all we have in the end, the stories we want our loved ones to hear. They don’t need anything at this point in their lives, just someone to listen. We made jokes and exchanged numbers and I wish to continue our friendship not because they need a listener but because what I saw was something so delightful, yet rare.
As I bid them farewell, I became encompassed in my own pool of thoughts. How wonderful it must be to hold on this long to the love of your life. To have shared a lifetime together and know you were never alone. To have that adoration for one another and be able to pull each other up and walk hand in hand. Yet to gain something we all must lose too and I felt it as they accepted this journey with no one to pass on their legacy. I was moved by this heavenly relationship, the beauty of their love, but it too had a flaw, a gentle reminder that nothing is perfect.