Tell us about him honey, she says.
Well, Mom, he’s an artist. He gets up every morning at 5 am to start creating. Isn’t that incredible? And he asks me good questions, not the dumb meaningless kind. He’s kind and curious and happens to live just a few blocks away! A friend who has some of his art introduced us. We’ve been hanging out since.
My mom asks if it could turn into something. Whatever that means. But I know what she means. I smile and keep going.
Well, we are really enjoying each other’s company. He goes slow, and I appreciate that. And he texts to check in almost every day. I like how he makes me laugh. He says I make him cheery. He introduced me to his older sister, and I invited them over for wine and cheese at my house to meet some of my friends the other evening. We all had so much fun. It seems the more outrageous the stories we tell one another the better.
I continue to tease her, amusing myself. She’s been dying for me to have a love interest. I know I don’t have any romantic butterflies stirring, yet in many ways I’m finding this budding relationship is even more novel, organic, and full of meaning.
I can’t explain it, Mom, but I was telling my friends the other day that having him in my life feels valuable, like I’m connected to my future and my past simultaneously. I think he feels the same. There are no expectations, just appreciation. We make one another feel younger.
I smile big at this point in my sharing, slipping in the bit of information I’d been intentionally withholding until now.
And guess what? His sister just invited me to a surprise birthday party she’s throwing for him! He’s turning 86!
I’m smitten, head-over-heels astounded by the many forms and textures intimacy is taking in my life.
Susan Cole, 54, works in executive communications and lives in Boise, Idaho with her dog Javier and cat Franklin. A curious adventurer, avid questioner, and wonder-lover, she is also a mom to two fab Gen-Z sons and will be taking her third trip to the Baja campus in May to attend MEA’s Mastery Week: Stability vs Adventure – The Dilemma of Eros Through the Life Cycle.