Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Day 1 - October 16

Today I stepped over the threshold into my sixties.  My birthday falls in the midst of Michigan's October color blaze, and I am reminded of the fact that I am now in the autumn of my life (not winter yet!), and I have a great desire to enjoy the depth and intensity of life's color in this year.  I want to leave a record of it in pictures and in writing.

This day was spent with my dear husband.  Usually we are too busy to do anything together, so this was a great treat.  He drove me down his favorite motorcycle route out to Grand Haven, down Leonard Street.  Trees were burning with color, and we stopped to take a few pictures:





We walked out onto the lighthouse pier at Grand Haven, fighting the wind and dodging waves that broke against the concrete abutment.  In the shelter of the turbine we broke out a clandestine canning jar of plum wine (the same brand we had enjoyed on our honeymoon), and Phil surprised me with a new wedding and engagement ring.  (I had lost my diamond last year in Lake Tahoe.)  This is really romantic for him.  He also okayed a takeout order of Asian cuisine for a birthday dinner with our four Arabic homestay students that evening, then washed up all the dishes, and then—crowning self-sacrificial gift—played a game of Settlers of Catan with me, losing with panache. 

What a dear man.  One of God’s best gifts to me, and completely undeserved.



We go most days to the gym, pommeling our bodies and muscles into some semblance of shape so that we don’t go into old age too weak and sick to enjoy each other and whatever adventures God gives.  We remind ourselves often that the retirement account matters less than our health, when it comes to getting old.  Maybe we’re wrong, but it makes us feel good.

So, at the beginning of my 7th decade, I want to go on record as saying that my husband is a good man and that I am so, so happy to be able to wear a new, shiny ring that says we still belong together.

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