7 of 10: I digress

Dear husband,

Remember when you asked me if I wanted to go to Sydney? I think my first reaction was skepticism: "Are you serious?" But your encouragement "Let's do it!" worked. And a few short weeks later (after a near catastrophe passport dilemma at JIS), we found ourselves walking from Darling Harbor to Circular Quay on a beautiful morning.

Remember when we followed the sounds and smells that led us to the outdoor market at "The Rocks?"
The lines of business workers with their tell-tale sneakers and suits, extended past the shops and snaked into the nearby square. We thought, "It must be good if it's worth that wait." We ordered wraps - mine was a smoked pumpkin, spinach, and chickpeas with feta cheese.

We found a green park bench shaded by a towering cotton tree. Large, palm-sized leaves fell in the breeze. We looked up at the intersecting branches, a tent of green, yellow, and orange, and realized it had been almost two years since we had heard the sound of rustling autumn leaves.

Remember the other couple? Remember when the grey-haired woman asked if she and her husband could join us on the bench? We scooted to the edge to make room for them.

He was much frailer than she was. She guided him as he sat down. She took the hat from his head and placed it securely behind them propped between the bench and stone wall. They had one plate of food to share. He fumbled with the cellophane-wrapping of the plastic utensils until she gently took it from his hands, opened it, and handed him his fork.

They were happy. They smiled. They seemed to be delighted with the same things we were: the canaopy of leaves above us, the good food, the street musicians. And in a strange moment, a touch of melancholy mixed with a surge of hope as I thought, "That is us...that is us in just a few decades." 

There will come a day when we won't be able to walk three to five miles in a morning with ease, energy and speed. Perhaps you will be the physically stronger one. Perhaps I will. But I hope we will love each other enough to share a plate of food. To help each other with the cellophane wrapping. To spend a day together.

For all the beautiful sights we saw that day, dear husband, this one of the elderly couple comes into focus most frequently. Like favorite lines from a good book, I think about them again and again. And I am filled with gratitude that I have someone with whom I can share my life - for these fast glorious times, and for our future slower calmer times.

To borrow your own words of encouragement, "Let's do it!"