I experienced some unusual moments in Canada this week and somehow felt uplifted. For example, a couple of nights ago I went to a local hamburger/sports bar near my hotel for dinner to watch a football game. Next to my table in the bar a small group of 20-something’s were talking and laughing while playing the card game Go Fish. Think of it…..young adults not really drinking heavily in a bar and enjoying playing Go Fish!
After a big smile flashes across my face and a chuckle slips out of my mouth, I turn to eat my dinner. When I looked across the room between bites I saw an 80-something couple laughing and talking during their dinner with a look of true interest for the other in their eyes. No vacant stares into space from either husband or wife, no angry sounding talk, no long, silent lulls in their conversation – just a couple truly enjoying each other’s company. Think of it……old adults who still love each other.
As I sat in this unfamiliar place watching the people around me I wondered if I would ever feel too old to do young things or too bored with life to forget that I can love and be loved. Can a Butch Wife Extraordinaire remain a true Butch Wife if she still likes to play with pickup sticks and skip along the street? I whistle and I like to whistle even if I’m off key. Does a real butch wife do that?
What makes someone lose interest in life? Does it happen when life throws loss our way, as it inevitably does, and lets our dreams fade and our hearts harden? Or does it occur when we only act as humans doing rather than humans being? Can you lose interest in life because things become more important than people? Does a Butch Wife have to be serious and responsible to the point that laughter becomes quiet and seldom heard? God I hope not.
I remember growing up in the hills of West Virginia knowing we didn’t have a lot of money, but relishing in the laughter and kidding we did together as a family. My father had a terrific sense of humor and my mother became a constant target for all of us to tease. It was fun to watch and participate in, and the whole time there was no question of whether life was interesting or not. Of course it was and always would be. I remember the sheer happiness I felt as a 6 year old when meeting up with friends down by the river. We would sit on the banks watching the water flow, continually tossing and retrieving a homemade fishing line with its safety pin hook hoping someday to catch something. We never did catch a fish, but we shared our world and sang songs together thinking it would coax the fish ever closer to our un-baited hooks. God I loved those days.
I am now an officially older person and wondered recently if I might lose interest in life. I don’t think I will. I still haven’t jumped out of an airplane and glided to earth under a parachute. Also there are thousands of places yet to experience on this earth, even though I’ve travelled around it several times. And I am still be amazed at the number of ways I can show my wife that I love her and always will. I hope I never forget that. Please God.
Butch Wife Tip #25
Does getting older really mean one has to leave those un-baited fish hooks behind or assume all that could be said or done with your loved one has already been said or done? I don’t think so. I think a Butch Wife Extraordinaire still whistles with abandon and sings off key as loud as she can to the one she loves. Try it. You’ll feel good doing it. I’m just sayin’……………
Butch Wife Extraordinaire-in-Training
Julie
lindageb
